Broken Ring
by weirdismyname
Summary: A silver-haired guy rescued her when she was young. After that, she had never seen him again. But one thing had made their paths cross after years. None other than the Broken Ring. Squalo/OC/Xanxus.NOTE: SET BEFORE AND DURING INHERITANCE CEREMONY ARC.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**a/n:  
**

weirdismyname here! Yeah, I know that my NaruHina story isn't finished yet, I'm still working on that so no worries! :) I just couldn't help myself but get started with my new story, which is the Broken Ring.

Well... I just fell in love with Squalo Superbi. xD So, I decided to make a story concerning his character. By the way, this is my first time writing a KHR story! Please, bear with me.

Support me in this story too! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! The first five chapters will be short... but as the story progresses, it will contain longer chapters. :)

**Disclaimer: If I owned KHR... my life is very much different from what I have right now. xD**

* * *

**Broken Ring**

A silver-haired guy rescued her when she was young. After that, she had never seen him again. But one thing had made their paths cross after years. None other than the Broken Ring. Squalo x OC

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

_Huff. Huff. Huff._

_She was running at the fastest pace she could manage with her small feet as she was commanded to. "Do not look back. Seek for the yellow light in the deepest part of the forest. Help will come to you as long as you don't look back, my dear Melissa. You would be safe if you reach that yellow light and we would follow you as soon as possible..."_

_That was what her mother had told her, unbeknownst that it would be the last time she would hear her voice. No matter how hard she protested against her mother's wish, she could do nothing to be of use to her parents. Right now, the home she had always returned to and her family had treasured, was burning with the wildest fire that she had ever seen. And what was she doing while it burned? She was running away to save her life while her mother and father were still inside the mansion, trapped in the mostrous flames. She wanted to go back and save them._

_"Do not look back."_

_Her mother's calm and soothing voice echoed in her mind._

_"We would follow you as soon as possible."_

_True that her young mind still couldn't understand why the "bad" things were happening to her family on that night, but she was smart enough to think that it was impossible for her parents to escape that raging fire. So, she had to go back. She had to help them._

_But what could a seven-year-old girl do?_

_She hated herself... for being weak and useless. For being a child at times like this. That was the reason why her mother forced her to escape in the first place, right? Still, she wanted to go back and make sure that they would escape together._

_Disobeying her mother's orders, she clumsily spun around and ran back to the direction where the burning mansion was settled. Melissa ignored the scorching sensation of her tiny bare feet for all she wanted to do was get to them right away. Tripping and slipping over and over again because of the mossy and rocky ground, she continued running back until the scary dark figures arrived that destroyed her plan._

_"There is the girl!" the man yelled in Italian as he held his torch high._

_"Do not let her get away! We capture the girl and kill her!" another yelled._

_'Who are these scary people? Why do they want to kill my kind parents and me?'_

_Melissa thought by the time she went back to the path of escaping. Everything was occupied by darkness, and she hated it. Only the quarter moon served as the light in the darkest night of her life, along with the torches that the scary people were holding. Her white night dress, now covered in mud, continued being torn by branches as she accelerated away from the men in black. Now, her plan of returning to her parents was ruined._

_"Ritornare!" _

_She shut her eyes when she heard several heavy footsteps keep occuring behind her. She didn't look back, she ran and ran until her feet could still feel the floor. 'Mother... father... help me. I'm scared...' She mentally called for them as tears stroke her snow white cheeks, now rosy because of her non-stop running. And in the most crucial moment of her life, the most inconvenient action happened to her. _

_Melissa tripped from the huge root of a tree. She could feel the gravity pulling her fragile body down, and she fell hardly against the mossy ground._

_"Poor girl. Daddy and Mommy are not here to save you, too bad." the man chuckled._

_"Look at the pampered princess. Now covered in mud and filth. How disgusting." the other one commented._

_The third man who held the torch advanced closer to Melissa. "I wonder how we should kill you, little girl."_

_Melissa's eyes widened as widely as they could. She stared at them in horror with her stressed out black orbs. She forced her body to get up, but no strength would come in her when she needed it. Her legs were numb and everything seemed to stop revolving in her world as she saw the gun being pointed at her._

_The man with the pistol chuckled, "See how scared the girl is? How delightful." he spun the revolver and aimed at her small head. "Do not worry, dear. This will be swift that you won't feel the pain of dying... and I'm sure you'll be able to see your parents soon."_

_"N...no!" The little girl squeaked._

_The three men smirked. _

_"Why don't we just burn her to completely erase her existense? Just like what had happened to her parents."_

_Melissa gasped. She knew... she heard the evil man right. They burned her parents..._

_"Let's get going..." the man said. "We are going to erase you from this world now, dear." _

_The pistol was kept back to its case at the man's belt, but the new enemy was there to take her life. The torch, which was within the grasp of the man, inched closer to her._

_"S-stop... pl-please..." Melissa whispered, "S-someone... help me..."_

_Once the torch was in its pace of being thrown towards her, she shut her eyes tightly and wished for the bad guys to fly away. She waited for the attack, but nothing came. All she heard were painful screams from those who wanted to take her life away._

_"VOI! You guys are ruining my training! So noisy in the middle of the night!" _

_A booming voice of a guy shot her eardrums badly. With that, she opened her eyes again, feeling the realm of life in her body, looking at the mysterious person who came in time to rescue her. The silver hair caught her vision first, and then the blade in his left hand. And that slightly killed the moment of her reliefness. After the gun, there was the torch, and then the sword. When she had averted her gaze from the mysterious guest, she saw the bad guys severely bleeding on the ground and unconscious._

_The sight of nearly dying people scared the hell out of her._

_"Tsk. Now my mood is ruined," The silver-haired guy scratched the back of his head aggressively as he was about to leave. But, a small figure caught the corner of his eyes that made him halt for the moment. He looked at her with his keen eyes, and saw her flinch from her spot. _

_"What's a little kid doing here?"_

_Melissa trembled. She didn't know whether she would be happy that the guy had saved her or not, because he was scaring the bones out of her. _

_The guy assumed that she might be two or three years younger than him, so he retrieved his sword to its case upon realizing that she was quivering in fear._

_"Voi. Stand up." he said._

_Melissa stood up, completely relieved that the sharp sword was now kept away. Her knees still wobbled so she ended up falling down to the mossy ground again._

_The silver-haired boy groaned, "You're hopeless." he walked towards her and hoisted her up in one pull. "What are you doing in a place like this?"_

_The little girl sobbed, if it weren't for the boy's grasp at her arm, she would've fallen down the ground for the umpteenth time._

_"Speak!" the boy impatiently exclaimed._

_"Th-they're gone... mother and father... they're gone." Melissa softly muttered. She buried her face on his chest and cried._

_"H-hey! Let go of me!" The boy had an attempt to push the girl away, but when he felt shivers from her, his heart somewhat softened that made him hold her supportively._

_"G...one... mother... father... d..dead..." she continued sobbing._

_The boy wanted to say something, but was prevented by hearing foul words from the people he attacked._

_"Give th-that darn kid to u-us... We... I will kill h-her... then you!"_

_'Kill? This girl?' The boy thought to himself. He glared hardly at the nearly conscious man on the ground and drew his sword out again. This time, he covered the girl's eyes and mercilessly stabbed the man on his throat._

_"Shut up, you low lives." He said in a pissed of manner and effortlessly brought back the sword to the case. He gently pushed the little girl away and turned his back on her. He crouched down in front of her and offered his back. "Hop on. I'll help you, crybaby."_

_As fast as a heart beat, Melissa hopped on the stranger's back and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck._

_The boy stood up, not bothered by the new weight on his upper body. She was only as light as a feather, so it gave him no hard time. He began taking her away from the mad people trying to kill her._

_"Yellow light... find... yellow light," she whispered hopelessly._

_"Yellow light? All right, I'll take you there. Just stay awake." _

_He felt the small girl nod._

_And then they wondered around the dark woods._

_Not half an hour, the yellow light that the small girl was talking about came to their sight when they had reached the lake. There was the medium-sized white boat with the weird face carved on its body. Messy spiky green hair... a not-so-handsome face... he was amazed that the owner had guts to show off his face like that._

_"There she is! That is Melissa Silvio!" a person from the boat pointed at them._

_"Melissa Silvio? Is that your name?" The boy asked her._

_She muttered a simple yes._

_When the people had reached them, he brought her down from his back and faced the poor girl. "Do you know these people?"_

_Melissa shook her head. She remained hidden behind the stranger's back as she eyed the new people surrounding them._

_"Who are you? Why are you with the girl?" a man said. _

_A gun was pointed at the boy._

_The silver-haired guy grabbed the hilt of his sword, ready to defend himself and the girl from any attacks._

_"Hey. Hey. Come on now, don't be so hard with a kid. I'm sure that that boy meant no harm. He wouldn't bring the girl here if he's an enemy. And look at the way the girl clings on him." the guy with the face craved on the boat, showed himself._

_"Doctor, but what if the child is a spy? Our plan of hiding the little girl would be ruined."_

_"He is not a spy." the said doctor cleared. He walked towards the two children and offered them a smile. "Dear Melissa, you come along now with me. Uncle Verde will take good care of you from now on. Do not worry, your mother and father trust me."_

_"Uncle... Verde?" Melissa said with her tiny voice._

_"Yes. Come on now. I will bring you somewhere safe and you won't see those ugly creatures again."_

_Melissa's grip loosened at the boy's shirt. She took tiny steps forward to Uncle Verde and reached for him like she normally did whenever she wanted to get carried by her father._

_Uncle Verde picked her up warmly and ruffled her wavy black hair. "You did a good job, Melissa. You're a good girl."_

_"That big boy saved me from the bad people. H-he was very good with a sword!" Melissa exclaimed._

_"Sword?" Uncle Verde looked at the said boy. 'He's not hurt. He easily defeated those people after her?'_

_"Hey, kid. I'm afraid we have to leave now. This girl's life is at stake and we have to get her away from here as soon as possible." the doctor said._

_"I understand. I know my way back. Take care of that crybaby, ugly." the boy said._

_The scientist's left eye twitched. 'Ugly, you say?' he let the boy get away with that remark, thinking that that boy saved this little girl's life. "Thank you for your help, laddie."_

_"Hmph. They were noisy and they disturbed my training. I can't let them get away with that." the boy said, "Voi. Don't be a crybaby. Be strong from now on." he told the girl._

_Melissa wiped her beads of tears and nodded at the boy, "Thank you very much for saving me." she smiled._

_The boy smirked and turned away from the people. He went back inside the dark forest, leaving without a trace._

_Even in the lost of her parents, Melissa still managed to smile as she watched the boy disappear from her view. _

_Verde carried Melissa inside the boat and asked his people to prepare her bath. The boat began leaving the dark place, and this was the last time Melissa would see her home._

_She would continue to live for her parents... she would be strong to endure the pain of losing them. She would not cry as she was told by the stranger who saved her. She would make herself useful as she grows up. And someday, she would look for those people who destroyed her peaceful life with her family._

_And someday... she would see the silver-haired boy again. She would continue living..._

_Not as Melissa Silvio. _

_But as Lissa De Luca._

**To be continued.**

* * *

**a/n:  
**

so what do you guys think? :) Please review and tell me what you think! Thanks!

**Vocabulary**

**Ritornare- come back here  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Japan

**a/n:  
**

so! here's chapter 2! I do hope that it'll have more reviews in the future. :) please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KHR or ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. BUT I DO OWN MY OC.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Japan**

_The flowers were blooming beautifully under the calm blue sky. Birds chirped, leaves flew, and grasses swayed at the feeling of spring breeze. It was paradise... in this place where no burden could reach the beautiful girl, now woman, Lissa De Luca. The maiden who just turned nineteen yesterday was enjoying the last step of her teenage life. She danced along with the swaying flowers around her and felt the juicy grasses tingling her bare feet. Her wavy long ebony hair followed the direction of the gentle wind and with the summer dress she was wearing, she looked perfect in every angle._

_But her joyful actions were stopped once she heard a deep voice from behind her. Her moves were prevented upon feeling strong arms wrap her waist and feeling a taller figure settled at her back. She could see silver strands of hair flowing from her back and she did not wonder who it was._

_"Swordsman?"_

_Her lady-like voice spoke. _

_And she heard a soft chuckle from the man._

_"Finally, I have found you. My search is over." _

_Lissa turned towards the man without having him let go of her. He was taller than she expected. Probably a six-footer and she was just at the level of his shoulder. Without further doubts, she looked up to see his face but her view was blocked by the sunlight._

_"Tell me who you really are..." Lissa said._

_A smirk formed at the corner of his lips. "Voi. I am..."_

_"Okyaku-sama."_

_Lissa blinked. "Okyaku-sama?"_

_"Please, wake up, okyaku-sama." And she felt her body being swallowed by the air._

* * *

"We have arrived, _okyaku-sama. _Please, wake up."

The flight stewardess politely shook Lissa from the passenger seat.

Lissa, who was still affected by the sweet dream, subconsciously opened her black eyes. It took her a while before she could comprehend that she was back to reality.

"Are you all right, ma'am? Does your head still ache?" the flight attendant asked concernedly.

Lissa blinked several times. And the painful interruption, which she called "reality", struck hardly through her chest. Yup, she was awake and that was all a dream. Again.

"I-I-I'm fine now. Thank you for the medicine. It gave me enough sleep." Lissa smiled unsurely and stood up. It appeared that she was the last passenger left in the airplane. "Thank you for waking me up." she then took her belongings with her and walked out of the plane.

It took half an hour before she had gone out of the airport. She had just claimed her luggages, and was now waiting for a taxi cab to arrive.

"So it was all a dream... again." Lissa had her hundreth sigh since she got down from the plane. As far as she could remember, that dream kept recurring to her for the 50th time. It just started coming to her in the midst of last year's spring. It was extremely bothering her right now, that in day and night, she was stuck in a loop of riddles for solving who the silver-haired man really was.

Once again, she sighed. She didn't even notice that there was a taxi cab already in front of her. So, it ended up leaving her behind and taking another passenger.

Lissa took a brief look at her watch. "Hmm... Where are those taxi cabs?" she muttered to herself, and once again... she was lost in her wonderland.

The silky silver hair of the man appeared on her very eyes again. His well-toned body covered by an unexplainable black suit of she didn't know if he's a policeman or a member of an army or a lawyer... and a sword attached to his left arm. He looked perfect—well, almost. The only two tiny details that she was lacking of his image was the face and the name. It always happens whenever she looks up to him, and asks for his name. Her dream was always interrupted by her enemy called "reality". What a kill-joy thing. She just wished that her dream would continue this night...

And she had already missed three cabs in a row without notice.

"Seriously, where are those taxi cabs?" Lissa groaned and pulled her long sleeved white blouse to view her wristwatch. Unlike her appearance in her dream, she was wearing a long sleeved blouse, black skinny jeans and a pair of black shoes for her footing. Her wavy long ebony hair was tied into a low bun and few strands fall at her sides.

*kriiiing! kriiiing!*

Lissa took her cell phone from her purse and answered the sudden call. The caller I.D showed the name of "Namimori Middle School" so she immediately picked it up.

"Yes? This is Lissa."

"Lissa-san? This is the principal of Namimori Middle School, I am deeply sorry for calling all of a sudden."

"It is all right, _kochou-sensei. _Will I be of any help?"

"Well... the school doctor has made up his mind and resigned today. I believe I have informed you that your first day would start on the day after tomorrow as a temporary school doctor. But, due to inconveniences, we have discussed in our faculty meeting to make you the new doctor of our school. I hope you do not turn this offer down and start your job tomorrow if that is possible. I know that you just arrived our country for now... I am very sorry."

"Thank you very much. I am definitely not in the place to turn down your offer, _kochou-sensei. _Starting my job tomorrow is not a problem for me." She smiled, "I will be there tomorrow so do not worry anymore."

"Oh! Thank you very much! We will be expecting you tomorrow, De Luca-san. Have a great day."

It was not hard to determine that the principal really sounded relieved. Lissa felt happy to hear the good old principal like that.

"Have a good day too." she replied. Then the conversation ended. She kept her phone back to her purse and called for a cab. "Finally, I found one. Japan sure is a very busy country..." she mumbled.

When she was settled inside the cab, she thought of the possible places where she'd find her master. That was the main reason why she was in this country in the first place. Back in Italy, she accidentally heard one of her master's subordinates say that Reborn was in Japan, if Reborn were in Japan, then there might be a possibility that her master was in this country also. So, she decided to go there to look for Verde. After all, she was tired of waiting for the mad scientist ever since he left her in his subordinate's care several months ago. She wanted to know how he was doing... She wanted to know if he was all right... She wanted to know if he was taking good care of his health. Verde sometimes—most of the time skips his meals whenever he had researches. Well, Verde's days of not having any researches could be counted by a single hand. It was a good thing that she was pushy enough to force him eat his daily meals. She just hoped that Verde would keep in mind what she had always told him about his health. In his original state or in a baby state, he never changed. He was still that mad scientist whom she looked up to but in a cuter way. _He was too cute to be a mad scientist, _she always thought ever since he went home being an arcobaleno several years ago.

"Maybe looking for Reborn-san would give me big help, too. Maybe he knows where my master is..." She thought.

After an hour, she safely reached her apartment. The taxi driver was kind enough to help her carry her luggage. After settling them in front of her apartment, she thanked the kind taxi driver and paid him in double for his generosity. She took the keys from her pocket and unlocked her door, she went inside and dragged her luggage with her.

The apartment was not that big, it was enough for a person living alone like her. Her things would be delivered later by the subordinates of her master. There was no need to worry about the beddings, the kitchen, the bathroom and the dining room. They were all provided by the apartment they've chosen. The subordinates even offered her that they would take care of her daily needs and send her money to pay for her rent, but she didn't want to bother them anymore by telling that she was old enough to take care of herself. So, she was lucky that the position of being a school doctor was given to her by the principal of Namimori Middle School. She need not to worry about her expenses anymore.

_How she loved Japan._

In the afternoon, the blacksuited subordinates came to deliver her things. They arranged the apartment until sunset. And after the hardwork, she could finally move well in her new place, thanks to them. They had left her when they finished their work and went back to Italy with their private plane.

Night came for Lissa De Luca, a first time tourist in the land of the sun. Her first impression for the country was...

_Taxi cabs sure are in demand here._

But, she could feel that she would enjoy herself here. She could hardly wait for tomorrow to start her job. Or... it might even be possible that she'd find her master. That's much better.

She had her dinner, had taken her bath, had brushed her teeth and had changed to her favorite pyjamas. The blue one with tweety bird designs.

All she needed for now was a nice sleep... she was definitely tired from her long trip from Italy.

_"Everything would be fine..."_

That's what she thought before she drifted to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**A/N:**

As I told in the first chapter, the first five chapters of the story would be short. But worry not. I will update soon before you know it. (I do hope I could update my other story.) I beg of you... please review! thanks!

**Vocabulary**

**Okyaku-sama- mr/ms. customer**

**Kochou-sensei- principal**


	3. Chapter 3: Lucky Charm

**a/n:  
**

****all right. I've been patiently waiting for some reviews. :) I will wait! Definitely!

Here you go. I give you chapter 3.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KHR OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. I OWN MELISSA SILVIO/LISSA DE LUCA.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Lucky Charm**

_"Everything would be all right."_

That's what she thought before drifting off to sleep. At the moment she had closed her eyes, she could feel her whole body float in relaxation. She didn't have any troubles on sleeping even if it was not her house or bed. She didn't know why, but it was a real great advantage for her. Soon, she would enter her land of dreams and fantasies. That's why she was always so excited whenever night comes. That was the meaning she was going to have 9-10 hours of sleep.

Again, she was doing that. Soon, she knew she would arrive at her land of dreams.

*ding dong*

But the slightest noise would wake her up like she had never slept at all.

Lissa opened her eyes and groaned in exasperation. Seriously, why was everyone ruining her moment? First was the flight attendant who unintentionally interrupted a great part of her mysterious dream of "The Silver-haired Swordsman from the Forest", and now, a person she didn't know who pressed her doorbell also unintentionally interrupted her trip to continue her mysterious dream of "The Silver-haired Swordsman from the Forest". Whether it was against her will or not, she went to get the door.

"_Konbanwa_, are you... Lissa De Luca-san?" A man wearing a blue tracksuit with a cap asked as he read a note from his pocket. A small box settled on his hand.

"Yes, I am she." Lissa replied.

"A package came for you, please sign on this." the delivery man handed her the box with a small slip on top of it where she had to write her signature.

Lissa did so. She knew that this was the package her subordinates were talking about that would arrive this evening. How could she forget about that? So, when the delivery man was finished with his job, he wished her a good night and left. She locked the door and went to the dining room to check on what was delivered to her. She opened the box and it revealed her a new laptop, furthermore, it was _pink, _for crying out loud. Tomorrow she would send her subordinates an e-mail that she had received the package. She just hoped that this was the first and last package they would send... she hated it when someone comes and disturbs her in her private moments. In other words, she hated it when she's disturbed whenever she's in her house or room.

When she had removed the laptop from the box, a flash of light caught her eyes. It also came from the package.

"There's still more?"

She looked into the box and saw a silver bracelet with weird carvings which she couldn't understand. The weird writings began glowing on their own upon laying her eyes on it. Ancient letters—figures—symbols—whatever, rapidly moved in a way a naked eye couldn't foresee what it was forming. The unexpected phenomenon came to an end after a few seconds and left an unshaken Lissa in the kitchen. She remained calm, after all, she was used in seeing surprising things—even more surprising things than this, when her Master Verde was inventing and experimenting different machines. Unhesitantly, she grabbed for the mysterious bracelet in the box and examined it. The symbols had stopped glowing, and the weird carvings did not remain weird any longer. It had changed to symbols which she could understand with her knowledge. It had transformed into english alphabet in an unexplainable way.

_"MELISSA"_

That's what the symbols said.

Lissa frowned. Why did this bracelet have her long fogotten name? She told her and her master's subordinates to never call her that name anymore, and they were true to their words up to this moment. She had always believed them because they were her only family since her parents died. And her trust was never wasted by them. So, there's no way that they had programmed this bracelet to form the letters of M-E-L-L-I-S-A. Well... except for one person who didn't make such promises to her.

Probably it was none other than Verde.

So, instead of getting frustrated of being reminded of her old self... she felt happy because somehow, she knew that her master was watching over her somewhere. How Verde loved games. She knew him too well, but what confuses her was the purpose of this bracelet. He had never given her anything like this. It was always the gadgets, not the feminine things. Nevertheless, she loved the new present. Merrily, she wore the bracelet around her left wrist and mentally thanked her master.

"I am going to find you soon, Master Verde. Just wait and see how much I've improved..." Lissa mumbled, "but there's no need for you to remind me of my old name..."

She kept the box inside a shelf and placed the laptop on her working table. She had always wanted her place clean. So, after settling the new things out, she decided to go back to bed for her beauty sleep. She had a big day tomorrow, so a good night sleep is a must.

As she went towards her room, she suddenly felt a sting of pain in her body. She placed a hand on top of her chest to check on her heartbeat. It was normal, for her relief. But before she knew it, she started breathing hard and she needed to hold on to the doorknob for her support.

_"What is it... now?"_

She could feel a burning sensation in her body and beads of sweat started trickling down her face. The next thing that happened was her falling down the floor in a kneeling position. She gasped for air desperately and endured the pain she had never felt before. At the same time, her vision was beginning to blur.

She remained hopeless for some minutes. But, after that horrible experience, she felt her strength coming back to her. Her whole body calmed down and everything became cool around her. It's as if nothing happened to her at all. The beads of sweat disappeared, and the pain... it's as if it didn't occur.

"What... what was that?"

Now, opposite of what happened to her earlier, she began feeling really strong. Her whole body was refreshed... she stood up, now her vision back to its original viewing and saw the bracelet still glowing. Slowly, its light faded away and remained a normal-looking wrist accesory. Her Master Verde sure knows how to make things interesting in the games he plays.

First thing in the morning, she'd examine what kind of bracelet this is. A GPS to locate her? A transformer that would transform her to a robot? A device that would give her strength? Oh, how anticipating. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to find out what this is.

And so, to put her mind at ease before sleeping, she thought that this bracelet might be a lucky charm.

Without letting anything get in her way anymore, she proceeded to her trip in her wonderland of her soft bed.

* * *

Lissa De Luca was not that lucky this morning. On her first day of work as a permanent school doctor of Namimori Middle School, she was afraid that she would be arriving late. A faculty meeting was always starting at 8am in schools and it was already 7:30 at her wrist watch. Just why did she forget to set the alarm of her clock? Well, it was because of the folly of the bracelet she received from her master last night. Disregarding everything that happened last night, she ran as fast as she could for all reasons to be on time. So after putting her white polo shirt, black knee length skirt with a slit on the left side, and tying her hair into a high bun, she left her apartment.

After some minutes, she was able to get on the bus before it left her. Good thing she had caught up, if not... her morning would have a blighting result. So she has still considered the bracelet as a lucky charm since she was able to get on the public transportation.

7:45am.

That was the time when she got down the bus and proceeded to "running for the sake of being on time" again. And finally, she could see the building of Namimori Middle School and its beloved students. As much as she wanted to stop by and greet them properly, the "running for the sake of being on time" was still in her veins. So, she ended up greeting them hastily as she ran. She had run past many students and caused them to be enthralled by her. How she hated being the center of attention. For now, she didn't devote her focus on that, she had just moved rapidly until she disappeared from their view. But... she heard something from them.

"I'm so motivated to the EXTREEEEME! I'm goint to run too!"

She didn't have the time to look back to see who the guy was. But no need to think of that. The faculty room is just around the corner! She could still make it in time for the faculty meeting. The only problem is... she didn't know where the faculty room is located.

"Such bad luck." She cursed under her breath. She took another look at her watch, and saw the time that nearly gave her a heart attack.

7:52am.

Eight more minutes. She needs to find the faculty in this huge school building withing eight minutes. "You are so dead when we meet, master Verde..." she mumbled.

Then, an unmanly voice conquered her attention.

"_Sumimasen..."_

Lissa turned towards the boy who approached her. He had spiky brown hair and huge brown eyes. A student.

That's right! A student! She's safe!

"Are you our new school doctor?" the boy asked.

"Yes, I am." Lissa replied calmly and smiled. Still breathing hard from her dash.

"If you're looking for the faculty... it's that way." the student pointed at the right. "From there, turn left and you'll see the faculty room."

Lissa couldn't express how happy she was for being helped by this boy. She mentally took back what she said to the bracelet, she still trusted its luck. But, the punishing Verde thing was still living well inside her.

"Thank you very much! Umm..."

"Oh, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi." the auburn-haired student smiled.

"Thank you very much, Sawada-san." Lissa smiled back. "It's nice meeting you, you really helped me a lot. See you again later!" she waved goodbye at him and followed the way he had pointed.

Tsuna was left standing at the hallway, watching Lissa advance the passage. "What a beautiful lady..." he said with a blush.

Luckily, Lissa had made it before the long hand struck at twelve. She sighed in relief and unhesitantly slid open the door of the faculty. Eyes were quickly drawn to her when she entered a room and bowed.

"Good morning, my name is Lissa De Luca. I was sent here to be the new school doctor, nice to meet you all."

"Ah! De Luca-san, it is great to see you!" the principal warmly welcomed her along with the teachers. "We were about to start the faculty meeting, it is good that you have arrived."

Lissa lifted her head up and smiled sincerely, "Yes, I am happy to be a part of this school. Thank you for getting me."

The principal went to her and gently patted her back. "Everyone, please treat our new school doctor nicely." he said, and then he turned to her. "Good luck on your first day."

"Yes. I will do my best."

Indeed, she was very lucky that she had arrived sooner than later. A million thanks to Sawada Tsunayoshi and to her lucky charm.

She just hopes that everything would turn out well today... Hopefully, this would be a normal day not like yesterday. And she hoped that she would find clues that would lead her to where Verde is.

The meeting took for about twenty minutes, after that, they were dismissed. She was led by a kind teacher to her clinic and then she was left for her job. She had entered the school clinic and her first impression of the room was... it's very relaxing. Of course, clinics are supposed to be like that. But this one has a different taste of its relaxing aura. She could feel as if she would grow to love this place more and more in the future, well... she loved it already. She shut the door and wore her white robe. She somewhat felt excited on her first day because she knew that she would love everything in this school, especially students who are like Sawada Tsunayoshi. Of all traits in the world, politeness is still the best for her. Next to that is honesty. That's why she had studied and worked so hard to be a respected person like her parents.

She knew that she would greatly get along with the students. Probably all the students in school are like Sawada Tsunayoshi... but suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud from her sliding door.

The possible bloom of a normal day was crashed into pieces.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**a/n:**

****I want to thank those people who alerted and favorited this. :D Please, feel free to review! :)

Should I come up with a threat or something to make you guys review? Like... 5 reviews or no update? Just kidding! ^_^

Look forward to the next one! It's already done. :D

**Vocabulary**

**Konbanwa- good evening**

**Sumimasen- excuse me**


	4. Chapter 4: Chase

**a/n:  
**

****I hereby present you chapter 4! Thank you for those who favorited and followed this story. The following chapters would contain longer contents starting now. ^^ yay!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KHR.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Chase**

"You're the new doctor here, right?"

A tall guy with black hair and sharp eyes entered the room without even giving her a simple and polite greeting. His black coat hung on his shoulders and a red strap was tied around its left sleeve. Lissa couldn't help but furrow her brows as she read the kanji characters of the word "Prefect" embroidered on the red strap.

"Yes. I am Lissa De Luca." she smiled sincerely at the handsome student. "Do you need something? Are you feeling bad?"

The black-haired prefect suddenly walked inside the room and leaned at her desk. Eyes glaring at her grudgingly as if he wanted to kill her.

Lissa kept that smile on. Her eyes stared back at his.

"You better be a good doctor. Do not bring shame to the name of Namimori Middle School. Or else..." he warned, "_Kamikorosu_."

Lissa didn't feel intimidated at all. She just blinked her eyes innocently and nodded her head obediently.

Silence occupied the both of them as they continued staring at each other. But the doctor wished for the student to leave soon, he was giving her the creeps with those glares. Is this person a real prefect? She thought prefects were the nerdy weakling types... but the student in front of her was the complete opposite of what she expected. He was like a delinquent who brings problems to the school instead of the one preventing them from happening. And he sure had guts to talk with someone who's older than him by five or six years, moreover, she's the school doctor! Students ought to respect the school personnels!

And this guy calls himself a prefect?

Lissa sighed mentally.

Suddenly, the cutest thing her eyes had ever seen came from the opened window and landed on top of the student's shoulder.

A small round yellow bird tweeted cutely as it saw her.

Lissa did her best to prevent a loud squeak escape her mouth.

_So the tough guy has soft spots, too. We really can't judge people by their looks._ She thought.

The student then coldly turned around and walked across the room. He halted by the threshold and gave her one last glance, "I mean it. Do your job well." and then the door was shut loudly.

"Yes." Lissa muttered. _What a mysterious guy..._ She felt something different from the boy. There was something odd about his aura or something just like what she felt with Sawada Tsunayoshi. Well, she had that kind of intuition ever since she was a child. She could feel a person's aura but she disregards it most of the time because she didn't want to judge people.

Well, her experience this morning was a little weird... but she had to look on the positive side. Even with that sudden encounter with the mysterious prefect, she should still think that this day would be normal.

* * *

It has been four hours since she sat down on her desk and read the students' records in the clinic and it was already lunch time. Common causes of their coming to the school clinic were cold, headache, stomach ache, and fever. And one of the names she usually saw was Sawada Tsunayoshi's name, common cause was stomach ache. But this month, he didn't have any records at all. That kind of made her happy.

Even if she had already heard the bell rung for lunch time, she didn't have any plans of eating at all. She was not much of an eater... but all she had this morning were two glasses of milk and a slice of bread. Still, hunger didn't attack her stomach. Maybe she should try eating something if she didn't want to lose consciousness again because of losing her appetite.

Maybe the canteener could help her fill her empty stomach for the meantime. Yup. So, she'll eat today.

*bang! bang! bang!*

"Help, please!"

Lissa got distracted from the bangings from the door. She quickly stood up and slid open the door upon hearing the urgency of the lad's tone. It revealed the student that helped her this morning, Sawada Tsunayoshi. But this time, he was carrying someone on his back. A lad with silver hair. He looked like a sick person.

"You are... you're the lady from this morning..." Tsuna said.

"Sawada-san! This way." Lissa helped Tsuna carry the silver-haired boy to the nearest bed. When they laid him, they could see bubbles coming out of his mouth.

"He's choking." she said. She made the student sit up and she took a towel from a nearby shelf to wipe the violet bubbles trailing down his chin. "What did he eat? Why is he like this?"

"W-well..." Tsuna scratched the back of his head, "I don't know what to call that food, too..." he mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"I-I mean! He was forced to eat a stew. Please, help Gokudera-kun, sensei."

Lissa continued wiping the foreign liquids coming out of her first patient's mouth. "This is stew? What's with the color?" she frowned. This was the very first time she had encountered a food poison like this one. So... out of the world.

"Please look after him for a moment while I look for medicines. The buckets are over there, do not stop him from vomitting the poisoned foods he swallowed." she instructed as she handed over the towel to Tsuna.

"_Demo_, sensei..." Tsuna spoke.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm afraid ordinary medicine doesn't work in this type of... poison." he said.

"That's what I'm thinking of, too. May I ask, did this happen to him before?" Lissa said.

Tsuna answered the positive. "Though, it happened several years ago..."

Lissa stared back at the still choking Gokudera. He looked really terrible and pitiful. He was suffering so much... she guessed she didn't have any choices left but to use _that_.

"Sawada-san, will you kindly look for some energy vitamins from the shelf at the far left corner?"

"_Hai_!" Tsuna quickly sprinted towards the said shelf and began looking for some energy vitamins.

While the auburn-haired student was busy doing what she assigned him to do, Lissa proceeded on doing her own thing, too. She removed a black cloth on top of her black skirt which served as a cover to her belt that contained her "ultimate weapon". The golden belt carried test tubes with different colored round pills inside it. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Colors of the rainbow with different functions. She discreetly took the green pill from the tube and made Gokudera swallow it.

"You're going to be fine now." she said.

After a few seconds, the pain on Gokudera's face faded away for good. Lissa covered her golden belt again with the black cloth and it made an illusionary effect that hid the pills.

"I've found the energy vitamins, sensei." Tsuna came back with a bottle in his hand.

Lissa took the bottle from Tsuna's grasp and took one tablet from it. She made Gokudera swallow the tablet, "He's going to be all right now. It's a good thing that he choked with the food and only few reached his stomach. He just needs rest for now."

Tsuna's eyes went wide. "Eh? Y-y-you already cured him? But how?" he exclaimed, "That was one of Bianchi's creations..." he muttered.

"Oh, umm... you know. Gokudera-san is a strong lad! He overcame the food poison by himself! Isn't he incredible?" that was the best excuse Lissa could manage to think of. She was never good with lying.

Tsuna did not look convinced. "But that was Bianchi's food..." he said to himself.

Lissa cleared her throat, "A-anyways... please, do fill up this record for Gokudera-san." she said and led Tsuna to her desk.

"He'll wake up this afternoon, no need to worry anymore." she said as Tsuna wrote on the record sheet.

"I can hardly believe this... how did sensei do it? How were you able to cure him?" Tsuna asked.

Lissa smiled unsurely, "Like I told you earlier... it was Gokudera-san's work. I-I did nothing but give him the energy vitamins. W-why is Sawada-san doubting me? Don't you trust me...?"

"I-It's not that! I'm very sorry." Tsuna began to panic. "Of course, I do trust sensei with Gokudera-kun's health... it's just... his recovery was just too fast."

"Isn't that great then?" Lissa said.

"Y-yes." Tsuna replied.

"Do excuse him from classes this afternoon. I think he won't be able to wake up for two to three hours so... it's best for him to be left in the clinic." Lissa said.

"I understand." Tsuna said, "Thank you very much, sensei." he bowed politely. "Umm... I do not know your name yet..."

"Oh, I am Lissa De Luca. You can call me Dr. Lissa." she introduced.

"Then, I'll come back for Gokudera-kun later, Lissa-sensei." Tsuna said.

Lissa nodded. Tsuna bowed one last time and turned to leave the room. As he was about to leave the room, something had stopped him.

"You... what have you done to me...?" a masculine voice came from behind them. It was none other than Gokudera Hayato, who was slightly catching his breath as he held on to the wall.

"Go-gokudera-kun! You're awake!" Tsuna exclaimed.

Lissa gulped, "I-It's good to see you up, Gokudera-san. But, I suggest that you remain in bed to recharge your energy and—"

"What did you give me? What did you do to me?" Hayato went towards her.

Lissa was starting to get uncomfortable from a very close distance between them. Seriously, why are these people treating her this way? First was the mysterious prefect... and then... this delinquent-looking student had also disrespectfully talked to her.

"I... my parents had a hard time looking for a doctor to cure me from that monstrous food. We've gathered all the high class doctors around the world to regain my health from that poison! But you... what have you done that made me strong again even from that?" Hayato gripped her shoulders.

"Calm down, Gokudera-kun! You're going to hurt Lissa-sensei." Tsuna came to the rescue and gently shoved Hayato away from the doctor.

Lissa felt relieved.

"_Jyuudaime_! She was the only one who cured me this fast!" Hayato exclaimed. "That was aniki's deadly garbage!"

"All I did was give you energy vitamins, Gokudera-san." Lissa answered calmly. _He has a great stamina to be able to move after taking that pill..._

"No, you gave me another one! I felt it! Stop playing dumb, damn it!" Hayato countered.

_Damn it? Manners please... manners. _"Well, you were able to recover fast because you have gotten strong, right? That's that. End of discussion."

"You're trying to fool me. That posion could almost kill me but you immediately gave me the remedy. Why don't you just tell me the truth? What is that medicine?"

Lissa took a step back.

"I need to know that medicine!"

Lissa flinched from Hayato's loud voice. Why are kids so impudent these days? Her secret skills must remain a secret no matter what happens. Only her, master Verde and the subordinates must only be the ones to know about her talent.

No matter what.

And what do experts do at times like this? Watch and learn from Lissa.

"AH!" Lissa pointed out the window, "A flying frog?"

Tsuna and Hayato both turned their heads toward the window, completely falling for her ultimate trick.

Lissa quickly snuck away from them and ran out of the clinic.

"Hey! Get back here!"

Lissa went faster as she heard Hayato's raging voice.

"Gokudera-kun, wait! Don't chase after Lissa-sensei!" she heard Tsuna say from her back.

* * *

Lissa ran across the corridors, jumped down the stairs, and slid to rooms which she had not seen this morning. Her running skills were set to the highest point, but Gokudera Hayato didn't stop chasing after her. She knows how to get tired too, all right? She hadn't eaten anything yet to satisfy her stomach. And... what if the Principal sees her running like a rabbit along the hallways and not being a good example with the students?

It's bye-bye job.

"Hold it! Come back here!" Hayato yelled for the tenth time.

Everyone's eyes were glued to them as they accelerated faster in the hallways. Lissa was definitely getting a lot of attention today... and she didn't like it. She so should have given Hayato a stronger pill so he'd be on bed for the whole day.

Unfortunately, her only ally in the world was out of nowhere. It seemed Tsuna didn't have the speed to catch up with them. So, she's alone with the "bad" guy.

Unfortunately, the "bad" guy turned to "bad" guys. Because right infront her stood the mysterious prefect whom she didn't want to see the second time today. She halted on her steps and breathed for air.

"No running in the hallways. You abided the rule of the school. You shall be punished mercilessly." the prefect said and brought out tonfas.

Lissa blinked, _since when did he have that_?

She planned to run back, but Hayato was also there... She was cornered.

"Finally you stopped running. Hand me that medicine, now!" Hayato forced.

Lissa took a step away from Hayato, "W-will you just stop this nonsense? All I gave you was—"

"Stop giving me that shit, doc. You might be able to charm _jyuudaime_, but your charms won't affect me!"

"Oh... please, give me a break." Lissa sighed. "Is that how you thank someone who saved your life? Kindergarteners can do better than you, brat."

Both the prefect and Hayato were stunned as they heard the sudden change of her speaking tone.

Lissa, upon realizing this, immediately covered her mouth and mentally stabbed herself on her back. It really is hard to control words if you have a sharp tongue when you want to give someone a piece of your mind.

"I-I-I mean...! B-boy! Yeah... boy..." she nervously defended herself.

"You two are still going to be punished for abiding the rule of the school. Especially you, newbie good for nothing doctor. Being a bad example to other students... Get prepared." the other student said.

"Stay out of this, Hibari Kyoya. That lady doctor is mine to deal with." Hayato said and glared hardly at the Kyoya guy.

_Newbie good for nothing doctor... _That sunk deeply into Lissa's heart. Why were youngsters these days so uncaring of other people's feelings?

"I told you to stay out of this, didn't I? My business with her is none of your concern! Just let me deal with her first before you take in and punish her!" Hayato yelled.

"Annoying. You get lost." Kyoya countered. "I'll deal with you later, weakling doctor. I have to deal with the main source of this problem."

"Main source of problem? It's that doctor's fault! If she didn't run in the first place, we won't be in this corridor and I won't see your fucking face!" Hayato defended his pride.

"Hn. You're just scared to face me. Coward." Kyoya replied.

A huge vein appeared on Hayato's forehead, his eyes fiercer as it had been when he glared at Kyoya. "No way in hell I'm scared to the likes of you, shit."

_'Oh no... this is bad.' _Lissa nervously thought to herself. '_No. This is a good chance to escape the jaws of death.. Yes, while they're busy fighting with each other... I'll escape quietly...'_

_Quietly. _

_Like a ninja._

_Stealthily._

_Like an s-class criminal._

And... _clunk._

Carelessly, she had bumped into a metallic table. The two lads' eyes averted to her, melting her in a dreadful way.

_'Curse the table.'_

"Where do you think you're going? We're not yet done." Kyoya said.

"We have lots to talk about." Hayato added.

Lissa took a step back as they walked closer to her. She grabbed for the metallic table and slid it in front of her to serve as a temporary barrier from the violent students. "O-of course, if you two want to go for a duel... I thought I might be useless there and might get in the way! So... the best decision to make was leave you boys alone, right? S-so you could settle everything in a man-to-man way!" she tried to sound certain with her answers, but failed horribly.

_Floor, swallow me._

"You're the prize. Whoever wins from the two of us... you will have to surrender to that person. Is that clear?" Hayato-the-grumpy said.

_'Prize? Me? Are these guys nuts?'_

"You will have to come with us to settle this once and for all." Hayato added,

"W-wait. Isn't that a bit too... cruel? Why do I have to come with you guys? It's your duel and I—a woman—should not be involved with a teenager's fight!" Lissa said.

"_You _are the cause of everything." the guys said in unison.

Lissa felt so little. What was wrong with her brain today? Just as she recalled everything that she had done today, it was rather foolish instead of tactful. The witty, calm, nature-loving and serious doctor... was cornered by two delinquents.

She got herself into this situation, she could get herself out.

But... how?

Run again? They would chase her.

Knock them out? She can't hurt the students. And... as if she had a chance on winning over them.

Get help? But from whom? Tsunayoshi wasn't around anywhere, and he was her only ally.

This felt really nostalgic to her. It was as if an reenactment of her most horrible experience when she was a child.

Unfortunately, the silver-haired guy was not here to save her. Instead, another silver-haired guy was here as her villain this time... not her ally.

_Someone... save me!_

She couldn't express how glad she was when her hero came, finally.

_Ding Dong Ding Dong._

The school bell had rung for her sake.

Without wasting any time, "You guys should go back to your classes right now! As a student of this wonderful school, Gokudera Hayato-san, you shouldn't waste any single second as you study. Not all people are blessed to be able to study at a prestigious school like you. Go on... continue with your studies and make history!" she melodramatically clenched her hand into fist. "And, Hibari Kyoya-san... it is your duty to be a good model for all the cute students of Namimori Middle School. I have known that you are a very responsible school prefect so I have high expectations from you. And I, as a doctor, shall go back to the clinic and pray for the students' health and hope that _no one_ comes to see me." she saluted at them and was gone like the wind.

Saved by the bell, indeed.

_Saved by the bell._

The lucky charm was giving her extreme luck!

But... is the bracelet really a lucky charm?

The witty, calm, nature-loving and serious scientist... doesn't have any ideas of what would that bracelet would do to her sooner or... later.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**a/n:**

so... kyoya and hayato made their first appearance in this story. hmmm would you want to guess who'll be appearing in the next chapter? ^^ a very important event will happen! that is where would start EVERYTHING.

Please, review! I beg of you! REVIEW!

**VOCABULARY**

**Kamikorosu- I'll bite you to death**

**Hai- yes**


	5. Chapter 5: Accident

**a/n:  
**Thank you for the reviews! :) By the way, I would like to say that I thank **CandRedApples**! Without your fic, "Doctor, Doctor" I wouldn't figure out what kind of profession Lissa would have! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Also, to my friend MartiaLae. :) She helped me improve my plot in this story. ^^

All right, I give you chapter 5! :)

* * *

**Chapter 5: Accident**

As soon as Lissa De Luca heard the afternoon bell, she quickly gathered her things and began her huge escape. She had a very strong intuition that those "two" would be back soon and if she didn't move quick, she would lose her life in a matter of seconds. She anxiously checked the corridors, turning at the left, then at the right. Luckily, no one was around. It was the first sign that she would be safe.

For now.

She walked as cautiously as she could to remain unnoticed by anyone who'd be passing by.

Why does the clinic have to be located at a very deep area in the building?

Why does she have to deal with those two weirdos the whole lunch break?

Why does she have to use one of her pills?

If she just hadn't used that pill to Gokudera Hayato and let him suffer with the alien food, she wouldn't have to go through this kind of situation. What did she know? He was a patient and she was a doctor. A natural phenomenon for two kinds of people. Of course, she would save him. But in exchange, she didn't receive the usual demeanor of the patients. Instead of hearing the warmth of gratitude, she was shot by the demonic feeling of cruelty.

That Hibari Kyoya prefect perfects the chemical combination of the atomic bomb.

Of all things in the world, what she hated most was violence.

And so, she kept walking stealthily until she could see the exit of hell—err—school building. Just few more steps, then she would be free to run.

Three... two... one.

Finally, she was out of the realm of horror. The first thing she would do when she gets home was to look for the amnesia pills she once made. She knew she brought a pack with her. That's right, the amnesia pill will end everything between her and that Gokudera Hayato. She was fine dealing with Hibari Kyoya since he seemed not to care about her secret skills at all, however, she had to watch out from that guy too. It would be more complicated if he would be the one to know about her special pills next.

She would make tons of amnesia pills. Right.

"Tons of amnesia pills." Lissa whispered to herself.

"What are you blabbering about, lady doctor?"

A deep voice made Lissa jump up a little bit. She knew who owned that... she knew who that person was. She didn't plan to look back to see the person, she knew that the best decision she would make was to run away.

"Oi! Stop running, you troublesome woman! I'm not going to hurt you, damn!"

Hayato chased after her before she could disappear from his sight.

"Just please, stop bothering me!" Lissa said as she continued to escape.

"NO! You have to tell me what kind of medicine you gave me!"

"You're still into that?"

"Of course, I am! There's no other reason why I'm wasting my time on you!"

This Hayato-guy was definitely pushing her to her limits. Her patience, her hunger and her exhaustion. Because of this guy and that prefect, she wasn't able to have her lunch. And she would have to run without any stored energy inside her body. Even water wasn't present!

"Gokudera-kun!"

Lissa never learned to lose hope. Even in crucial moments, she had never gave up hope. The angel came to save her.

"Stop chasing after sensei, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna went to stop the octopus-haired guy.

"So the rumors were true. Hayato is desperately chasing after the love of the new school doctor. How interesting!" a black-haired carefree-looking guy had appeared with Tsuna.

Before Tsuna had gotten to Hayato, the delinquent had already claimed his prey.

"Will you stop running? I'm not fighting with people who are weaker than me." Hayato said as he tightened his grip on her wrist.

Lissa flinched. This was hopeless. How could she possibly get away from him now? Change of plans. Once she gets home, the first thing she would do was to create a Resignation Letter. The amnesia pills comes second.

"Oi. Oi. Hayato. Isn't that a bit too harsh? If the doctor doesn't want to, just leave her alone. You'd get in trouble if something bad happens to her." the black-haired guy said.

"That's right, Gokudera-kun! Why don't you just respect sensei's decision?" Tsuna added.

Lissa's eyes glittered at the two kind people. Rescue had come. It was three versus one. The bad person is outnumbered! Justice prevails!

"But, _jyuudaime... _She might be the answer to all my problems concerning Bianchi! This weakling doctor might be able to make me a medicine that would terminate aniki's poisons!" Hayato explained.

"Your aniki tried to poison you?" Lissa's black eyes became concerned. Her heart felt a clench.

"If I say yes, then would you give me the cure? You're a doctor, right? You should help a patient like me." Hayato stared back at her with determined eyes.

"No. I have done my work with you earlier. You're back to your perfect health and your problems are none of my concern." She replied in a heartbeat. You know what the saying says, _if your brain is load with tons of things, make your mouth work_. The clench in her heart quickly vanished.

"Hahahaha! Why don't you take it, Hayato? Sensei dumped you." The carefree student laughed heartily.

"I'm not asking her out on a date, baseball-freak!" Hayato shouted at Takeshi.

"Come on. No matter what the reason is, you don't have the authority to force sensei." Takeshi replied calmly.

"But-"

"Gokudera-kun. Enough of this, please?" Tsuna begged. "We have been causing lots of troubles to Lissa-sensei... and it's her first day here. Plus, Hibari-san would be very bad if he finds out that a student is running after a school personnel."

_"Hibari Kyoya... that's right! That other guy! I definitely have to get out of here before that guy shows up!"_ Lissa thought.

"I am not afraid of Hibari. Like hell I'd lose to the likes of him." Hayato said.

Lissa felt Hayato's grip slightly loosen. While her capturer was busy dealing with his friends, she mustered her strength of pulling her wrist away from the Storm Guardian's grasp.

Before Hayato could react that quick, the doctor was already sprinting away.

"Heck? Come back here!"

"Just leave her alone, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna grabbed for Hayato's arm. Takeshi grabbed at the other one.

"Tsk. Damn it. I'm not going to give up on her. She'll confess it all to me tomorrow, I swear." Hayato said in his gritted teeth.

"I see. You really like older women, Hayato? She was certainly a beauty... no wonder you fell hard on her." the Rain Guardian said.

Tsuna sweatdropped, "You got it all wrong, Yamamoto-kun..." he said softly.

* * *

Finally, Lissa was far from the property of Namimori Middle School. Thank God Hibari Kyoya wasn't there. Indeed, she was thankful for Tsuna and the new ally she had met. If she had heard it right, the rude student had called the black-haired guy "baseball-freak". The troop of justice was growing step by step. A very great achievement. However, she still would make a resignation letter once she reached her home.

It is better to be always armed to the teeth.

If something unusual or brutal happens again tomorrow... she would not hesitate to hand that resignation letter to the dear principal. Maybe not tomorrow, it would be too rude for her to suddenly resign after just working for two days. After a month, she supposed. She'd observe Namimori further and then—

_Screeeeeeeech!_

A very deafening noise shook the hell out of everyone on the road. Lissa wondered what that was.

"Hey, did you see? Someone just got hit by a car!"

"Seriously? Isn't that dangerous? Let's go!"

Lissa frowned at what she heard. Disregarding all of her thoughts concerning the creation of her Resignation Letter, she had went to the venue where the said accident occurred. Tons of people gathered around the cite. She pushed herself nearer to the area and then saw a blond-haired man with green jacket lying on the ground just before the car. Blood was flowing out of his head and he was making no signs of movement.

"Ambulance! Call an ambulance!" a person said.

The man, who appeared to be the driver of the car, quickly brought his cellphone out and contacted 911.

Lissa's doctorly instincts fastly shot through her veins. Before she could help it, she ran towards the victim and crouched down to him. She carefully checked his condition and then saw the blood continuously flowing out. "This is bad..." she mumbled. "_He won't last longer after three minutes."_

"How long would it take before the ambulance arrives?" She asked any person that could hear her.

"It would be five minutes." a person answered.

Lissa bit her lip and turned back to the bleeding man. "_He's already dead when the ambulance arrives."_

"Mister, can you hear me? Are you still there?" she spoke to him.

No response.

She leaned closer to him to feel his breathing. Fortunately, he still was but very uneven. She then checked his pulse but found it very weak and slow. "This is very bad..."

"Are you possibly a doctor? Then if you are, please do something to save him!" the driver begged, "I do not want to be a murderer!"

Lissa didn't want to burst the driver's bubble. But... only a surgery would definitely save this man. A surgery at once. Without the right tools, she couldn't do anything to save the man's life. And if the ambulance is late even for a second, the chances are low that he'd make it.

"I would do everything I could." She said. "This would only be a temporary first aid, I do not know if I can save him."

"Please... do prevent him for dying... I did not mean to hit him. It was an accident..." the driver looked helpless. He was never intending for any of this to happen. He was a respectable and kind man. Killing somebody was not even the last thing he'd do on earth. Lissa could read him just too well.

Of course, Lissa could definitely save the victim without breaking a sweat. Her yellow pills would do the work. They are capable of stopping blood lost by reproducing more in the body until it is supplied with the correct number of hemoglobin, and it could also heal severe injuries. It was good that he didn't break any bones. She wouldn't have to give him the violet pills for that. But... with these people's attention devoted to them, how could she discreetly give the pill to the nearly dying man?

So, what was it? Her sake or the man's sake? For her, she would definitely choose the man's sake without even thinking. But, something was stopping her and she didn't know what that was.

Anyhow, she was left no other choice. She couldn't possibly let this citizen die in her own hands without doing anything. And so, she decided to disentangle the camouflage on her belt. She could just make an excuse for having been able to save this man who's at the verge of getting killed.

Wait.

She just remembered something.

Before completely removing the black cloth tied around her waist, she reached for her bag and began to look for something. Luck was definitely on her side. She could now save the guy without worrying about what would happen to her.

_"Thank you very much, master Verde!" _She mentally exclaimed.

Without bringing out what she discovered from her bag, she had pressed the button of the secret device she had found. Suddenly, everything around her froze and she was the only one who could move freely.

"All right." Lissa said. Verde was definitely the best master for her. He was the one who had given her the "Time-freeze device" which she had used just now. The device was designed and was meant for Lissa, it is capable of freezing anything in a 10x10 meter circumference without harming its user. Verde had told her to use this when she's in trouble like when someone was chasing after her. She could make the device work and make everything stop for a minimum of thirty seconds and maximum of two minutes. But, it can only be used once or twice a day depending on how long she'd make the time stop. It would take twenty hours to recharge it power, so she was noted to use it wisely.

Sensing that the time-freeze was working without fail now, she nonchalantly took a yellow pill from her belt and gave it to the dying person. She gently made him swallow it and waited for signs of his consciousness. Oh, the device could also affect the victim's memory. She programmed it not to harm the blond-haired guy with the time stop but would make him forget for seeing everything she had done.

After waiting for several seconds, the man had come back to life.

His beautiful eyes slowly opened and met Lissa's black orbs.

"Where... am I?"

Lissa sighed in relief once she heard the patient's words. That was the sign that he was out of danger.

Suddenly, the man's hand began to slowly reach up for her face. Before Lissa knew it, his hand was already carressing her cheek.

She blushed hard. No one had ever done that to her, except Verde. But Verde was a different topic.

"So beautiful... did you... save me?"

The man was definitely a very handsome guy. He didn't look like a japanese because of his blond hair and blue eyes, but his Japanese accent was perfect for a foreigner. Just like her.

"You're all right now. Do not worry anymore." Lissa smiled at him sweetly. "Please, be more careful from now on, sir."

The handsome lad smiled coolly. And then, he drifted off to sleep. A peaceful expression was plastered on his face.

Thirty seconds has passed, everything went back to normal. The time-freeze ended and just as Lissa expected, people didn't suspect or felt anything that had happened.

The blond-haired man was now fast asleep on her lap and showed no signs of pain.

"Dino-sama!"

Three black-suited men abruptly came out of the blue. They all have worried faces and it seemed that the Dino-sama they were referring to was the handsome lad on Lissa's lap.

"Dino-sama! Please, wake up! We, your subordinates, are here!"

"Dino-sama!"

"We are very sorry for leaving your side... please, do not leave us yet!"

"Ummm... excuse me," Lissa decided to interrupt the melodramatic moment before it goes off hook. "Please, be assured. His life is not in danger anymore."

Three heads snapped towards her. "Eh?"

Lissa nodded and smiled, "Your Dino-sama is out of danger. He had done pretty well for surviving, I could hardly believe it!"

"That is good to hear!"

"Thank Goodness!"

"Thank you very much, miss!"

Lissa carefully handed the Dino guy to the black-suited men, "The ambulance would probably be here in a minute. Do take him to the hospital and make him eat lots of food when he wakes up. He needs to restore his energy. And please tell the doctors that a surgery is not necessary. He only had... blood lost but it was quickly prevented." she explained.

"Understood."

Lissa stood up and bowed at them.

"Thank you very much for your help, _ojou-san_!" the driver sincerely grasped for her hand and showed his greatest gratitude.

"You are more than welcome, sir." Lissa smiled at the middle-aged man. "Please, be more careful from now on."

"Wait a minute, young lady. Please do let us give you a new clothing. Your coat and shirt are stained with our master's blood." one of the black-suited men said.

Now that they have mentioned it, Lissa realized it just now.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm afraid I have to decline it. I am fine of what I look, besides, my house is near this area so it's all right."

"Oh, then we would have the honor to escort you safely back home."

"I-I'm really fine. You do not need to go that far."

"But this is all we could do to repay you for saving Dino-sama."

"D-do not worry about that. I do not demand for something in exchange for those I have helped."

"We insist, young lady. Please, do accept our gratitude."

Lissa's brows nearly twitched. Just as she thought, she was never good with arguments. It was always hard for her to say no.

"A-all right..."

She lost.

By the time the ambulance came, a black stylish car with a crest came next. Dino was put in the ambulance while Lissa was forced to go inside the stylish car. It's not that she was against or she didn't like to accept the men's gratitude, it's just that... what was the purpose of using the "time-freeze" device to Dino if he would also meet her and know her? The original purpose of using that device was to make Dino forget about her just like what she did to the other people. Soon the driver would forget about her, then the crowd... and then Dino. But these black-suited men were out of the topic. They didn't get infected by the time-freeze device!

She so should have brought the amnesia pills.

It would take her twenty hours before she could use the time-freeze device again. Even if Verde told her that she could use it up to two times, she couldn't risk the fact that it would only be a 50/50 success. The first 50 meant that it would work well and the other 50 meant that it would fail and once it fails, it would break with no chances of getting repaired.

Verde took two years of completing this machine.

So, carelessness is not an option!

And so, she got in the car and changed her plans once getting home.

The amnesia pills comes first. The resignation letter comes second.

Yes. That's her final decision.

Unbeknownst Lissa, two pairs of hidden eyes observed her every move.

* * *

A guy with an average height stood right in front of a bank with a baby on top of his left shoulder.

"Shishishi. Did you see that, Mammon?" the guy with blond hair with a tiara on his head said.

The baby, who wore a very large frog-like hat nodded. "Of course I saw everything. Not a single detail missed."

"Should we report this to Xanxus then?" Belphegor asked.

"Hn. She would be a good money-maker with those pills. She would be of good use to us Varia." Mammon answered, "Plus, I think I have seen her before."

"Great. We should go back and tell everything we saw to Xanxus. Shishishi."

* * *

When the night has come, and the land is dark and the moon is the only light we'll see. Lissa was very happy that it was her most favorite time of the day! NIGHT!

It has been two hours since she had succeeded in her plans. It has been two hours since she successfully erased the memories of those two black-suited men about all of her. Indeed, bringing the amnesia pills came in handy. How did she do it? Simple. She offered them a cup of tea, dissolved the pills into the cup of tea, and made the men drink every drop of the cup of tea. After thirty minutes, they would forget everything about her. She didn't have to worry about the blond-haired man she rescued because she already activated the time-freeze on him which also erases the memories of those who were affected.

She could sleep peacefully! No more worries.

Only that Gokudera Hayato and Hibari Kyoya.

She finished making another amnesia pill exclusively for Hayato. She also finished making her resignation letter so she could hand it to the principal whenever she reaches her limit.

Great tactics. Indeed, great tactics.

She doesn't plan on losing to those brats. She would do anything to protect her ultimate secret of being the best medicine-maker in the world! Well, violence is not an option for her so she would use a pen instead of a sword. She was born believing that and that wouldn't change.

She lied down on her bed and heaved a sigh of relief. She just finished with her shower and was not on her tazmanian devil pyjamas. Time to sleep. Finally. She thought she wouldn't be able to lie down her bed after all what had happened to her in school and on her way home. But here she was... still relieved and breathing normally.

She was giving all the credits to the lucky charm.

Yes, to the LUCKY CHARM.

Now... a great dream would surely repay her for all the hardships she went through today. She just wished that the lucky charm would help her to get another access to her dream of "The Silver-haired Swordsman from the Forest". She missed hearing the silver-haired man's voice... a different silver-haired man, of course. A gentle one. Not that one she met in school. She didn't dream of the man last night. She felt a little disappointed by that.

"Please... let us meet tonight." she prayed mentally and then drifted off to deep sleep.

Not worrying of what would happen to her in the future.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**a/n:**

So... chap 5 is done. Please Review! kekekeke. ^^

**Vocabulary:**

**Ojou-san- miss  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Under Observation

**a/n:  
**

****Thank you very much for the reviews!

**MartiaLae**

**monamonalisa17  
**

**Guest  
**

** .  
**

**VongolaViv  
**

**Yuu-Hikari  
**

**Soul Vrazy  
**

**Hayato Lover  
**

****I really am happy that there are people who read this story! And thak you so much for Favoriting and following this. ^^

Once again, I thank **CandyRedApples** because she did help me a lot with Lissa's profession. (Even if CandyRedApples doesn't know that she's beena great help to me, so... I wanted to shout it out to the world!)

So, I give thee chapter 6. Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: I WANT TO OWN TAKE- I MEAN, I DO NOT OWN KHR OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. I HAPPILY OWN MY OC, LISSA-CHAN! **

* * *

**Chapter 6: Under Observation**

_Where... am I?_

_Blood._

_She was seeing blood._

_Blood here, blood there, blood everywhere!_

_Bodies of strangers lifelessly lay around her._

_She was in a place that she had never seen before. She was in a place she had never been before. She knew no one. But all of them were majorly injured and she was the only one who was breathing for dear life._

_"What is... this? What's happening...?"_

_Lissa's whole body began trembling. Seriously, where in the world was she? Why was she surrounded by... dead people? Wherever she looked, lifeless bodies still welcomed her sight. Left... Right... they were all there. Bleeding._

_Her breathing pace suddenly got uneven. Beads of sweat flowed down her pretty face, lips madly trembling, face incredibly pale, and hands extremely cold. She could feel the horror slowly entering her limbs and she was in the verge of losing her mind. The sight of dead people... that's what she couldn't take most._

_She brought her hands to her scalp and tightly gripped her wavy black hair. She didn't know what to do. She was all alone in this field. She was the only one __**alive**__._

_"Nige...te..."_

_She heard a soft voice. That distracted her for a moment._

_She quickly looked around to find who owned the weak voice. And what she had seen terrified her even more. She stopped breathing... she stopped thinking... she stopped blinking... she continued shaking. Because right in front of her... was the silver-haired man. _

_His silky long hair hung messily in front of his face. He hung in the midst of air and a long spear stabbed the flesh of his stomach through his back. Tears were threatening to fall down her eyes as she slowly shifted her gaze towards the man who owned the spear. She couldn't see his face for it was blocked by a blinding light. But the culprit for doing those horrible things owned a long indigo hair, that's what she could only see._

_"N...no..." she felt her throat dry. She could hardly find words to say._

_She screamed for her feet to move, but they felt like heavy cement._

_"Nigete... idiot..."_

_She heard the silver-haired man said once again, but his voice faded away at his last word. In a blink of an eye, he had lost consciousness._

_Lissa pulled her hair until few strands were taken off her scalp. This time, she couldn't find her voice. It's as if everything inside her was taken away by just seeing the silver-haired man make no signs of being alive anymore. Her soul was torn apart, her heart shattered into pieces and her mentality exploded._

_She was useless... very useless._

_She didn't know what happened, but the only thing that was clear to her was she's present in this place where innocent people died. And the most painful thing was she couldn't do anything for them. Especially to the silver-haired man. She was just standing there... being useless for all reasons._

_She wanted to die. She wanted the floor to open up and swallow her in one piece. But, she could see no chances of getting out of this horrible place._

_Then she heard the creepiest sound that entered her eardrums._

_The unfamiliar man chuckled as he threw his silver-haired victim off his long spear. The silver-haired man lifelessly stumbled on the floor as more blood came out of him._

_Lissa felt as if she was being electrified by pure lightning. The man's chuckle gave unexplainable shivers to her spine and removed the strength left in her knees, causing her to fall numbly on the concrete floor._

_"Useless, aren't you?"_

_The man chuckled once more._

_Lissa couldn't respond. She was too struck to even avert her gaze from him._

_"Pathetic. No matter what you do, you won't change anything. You are the cause of everything. You have all the rights to suffer by yourself."_

_Every word the man spoke sank in her chest painfully. She heard him right._

_She was the cause of __**this**__._

_The man advanced towards her. In just three or four steps, he stood tall in front of her. He pointed the tip of his bloody spear on her throat and smirked. "Your skin is too pale and smooth... the sight of blood staining your flesh is far more than lovely."_

_She stared at him in horror._

_"But too bad, I can't kill you yet. You still have to suffer more and more with that thing with you."_

_He retrieved his long spear and crouched in front of her. He caressed her smooth face, "But that doesn't mean that I can't hurt you."_

_Lissa flinched from his touch. Before she could do anything, she saw blood dripping down her body. Her own blood. She couldn't feel anything... but she could see the sharp spear stabbing her right thigh._

_"Life isn't fair, is it? Why would a peace-loving girl like you have to deal with these circumstances?" _

_The sharp tip was drawn out from her flesh, and let the blood flow out of her system._

_"Why won't you just die like how those people did?"_

_Lissa could now see the eyes of the man. Only the cold, dreadful eyes glinting with full of hatred._

_She felt scared. Very scared._

_She wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. But... how? She was trapped in this place. A strong man just before her sight was there. No one would possibly come to help her. No matter how she hated to admit it... she was all alone. No signs of Master Verde and her subordinates. Just strangers' and silver-haired swordsman's lifeless bodies lying on the floor. She had no chances._

_She was too weak and useless up to this moment._

_For all these years, she wanted to be a useful person. But, it seemed nothing had changed for all those years of studying and training with her Master Verde._

_Once again, she had failed._

* * *

"No!"

Lissa de Luca desperately sat up and gasped for air. Sweat was trickling down her forehead down to her neck. Her chest was way too tight and her whole body was trembling madly. It took her a while before she could go back to her righteous mind, and once she did, she quickly flipped her blanket to check on her right thigh.

Thank God, it was not stabbed or anything. She could see the face of tazmanian devil with huge fangs. She was on her own bed, and in her own apartment. It was all a dream.

A nightmare, rather.

For all these years, a nightmare had never haunted her dreams. It was stopped when she was twelve years old, but it got back again. And it's far worse than the ones she had when she was a kid.

That dream was weird. Way too weird. Who were those people? Why was everyone there dead? Why was the silver-haired man there? Who was the guy with dreadful eyes? What was her fault?

Bunch of questions kept occurring in her head. She leaned tiredly on her pillow and massaged her temples. She then looked at the clock beside her bed, and saw that it was nearly 6am. Killing her intent of going back to sleep after the horrible experience, she got up her bed and turned off the alarm of the clock. She was supposed to wake at 6:30am, but what's the use of going back to sleep with such small amount of time? She needed three or four hours to recover from that kind of nightmare.

So, whether she liked it or not, she got up to make her breakfast. She hadn't eaten anything yesterday, that's why the first thing she must do now is to think of a food that would satisfy her stomach before she forgets eating again. Her stomach shouldn't be empty when she encounters her two new enemies. The thought of being seized by those two makes her shudder. But, Sawada Tsunayoshi and the unknown baseball-freak were on her side. That's the power of Justice.

Plus, the lucky charm.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't removed her lucky bracelet ever since she wore it. Well, it kept her lucky so why would she remove it? Also, this bracelet might even give her more luck than what she has right now. There might be a possibility that she'd bump into Verde as she goes to school, if not, maybe it could give her more hints of where his coordinates are. So, she chose not to remove it. She'd just take it off if it starts giving her bad luck instead of good luck. But, so far, it caused her the latter.

She decided to start her day normally. Not bothering to think about what she had dreamt. It's as if she hadn't had a nightmare at all. She began cooking her meal, afterwards, she'd prepare for school.

She hoped that this day would be nicer and gentler to her.

* * *

"Interesting, indeed. Very interesting." Came a deep voice of a man. He was seated at a large working table with bunch of documents. He reclined on his comfy chair and his right leg settled on top of the table. "You know where the wench is?" he asked the floating baby in front of him.

"Yes. Bel followed her yesterday. He knows where she goes home." Mammon replied.

The man smirked. "Good." He then sat properly and placed his elbows on top of the table. He leaned his chin on his knuckles and eyed the baby with a frog hat in an insatiable manner. "Since we failed to recruit the bastard Shamal to join Varia… We could use that bitch in place of him."

Mammon stared back at his boss. "What do you plan on doing then? Kidnap her? Force her to join us?"

Xanxus chuckled. "Precisely. Whether she likes it or not… she will join Varia. Besides, she's a girl. A weak creature and inferior to us men. Convincing her to join would not be too much to handle unlike with Shamal."

Mammon shook his head. "I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you."

Xanxus arched a brow. "Hn. Why do you say so?"

"Because I have seen her somewhere a long time ago. She is no ordinary woman. There's much more that we do not know about her." The Mist Arcobaleno answered. "In fact, even if she appeared like that, she could be dangerous. Making the time stop around her in a certain area is not something that the Vongola is capable of doing. If Bel and I weren't protected by our rings, we would have also been affected by that phenomenon."

"You're scared of the wench?"

"It's not that. My only point is… we shouldn't take her on so easily. I repeat; I can feel that that woman is dangerous."

Xanxus scoffed. "Then that is much better! The fiercer, the better! We are Varia, after all." He laughed heartily. "Sure. I'll be more careful… I won't underestimate her that much as you said. But, I don't want you overestimating the woman. I don't want to be disappointed. If she is not as brilliant as I anticipated, we dispose her immediately."

Mammon nodded in approval.

"When do you plan to capture her?"

Xanxus' deep dark eyes narrowed, "As soon as possible. I want her to be observed… report her every move to me. Once I am convinced, get Squalo to kidnap her and drag her here in the base."

"Understood."

* * *

Lissa sneezed all of a sudden. She heard a passenger in the bus say God Bless to her, and she thanked the stranger's thoughtfulness. She then leaned her head backwards and closed her eyes for a moment. This was definitely not a good sign. This is not good. Lissa thought that she would have easily gotten over the nightmare, but every time she closes her eyes, the horrible image of the silver-haired man and the cold eyes glinting with hatred kept occurring in the back of her mind. It was frustrating yet… scary. She had been doing a lot of thinking since she was shot awaken by that nightmare. Even if she chose to forget it, her subconscious mind wouldn't cooperate with her. Seconds by seconds, minute by minute… she would think of what had happened in that dream.

The silver-haired man…

The dead strangers…

And the man who stabbed her thigh.

Everything was just so messed up. After spending hours of thinking, she still couldn't find out what that was about. It felt so real… She thought everything was really happening. But, Thank God it wasn't. But, what if it was real? What would she do at a time like that? What would she become of if she were in that situation in real life? Dreams were one of the things that aren't still proven on Earth. But, Lissa always believed in dreams. In fact, she loved them. She had always believed that there is a reason behind one dream or even in a nightmare. But there are times that she hoped they wouldn't come true… like the one she had recently.

Several minutes passed by, she got down the bus and proceeded walking towards Namimori Middle School. Another tiring day, she supposed. She hoped she wouldn't see Gokudera Hayato and Hibari Kyoya. Her mind was already occupied by a bigger problem, and they would still add up to that? Oh, she couldn't find the strength to deal with them at the same time.

_Lucky charm. Be luckier this time._

Walking absentmindedly at the sidewalk, Lissa didn't notice that there was someone right in front of her path. So, the obvious result of this was her bumping with the student. She wasn't affected by the collision at all. She just took some steps backward due to the impact, but… the student wasn't that lucky as her.

He ended up falling to the ground in a lame way.

Lissa was momentarily drawn back to reality and saw the problem she has caused.

"Oh! I am so sorry! Are you okay?" she immediately rushed to the student's aid and tried to haul him up.

The student had red spiky hair and round red eyes. He touched his aching forehead which hit the floor when he fell down and tried to endure the pain.

"I-I am fine. I'm deeply sorry… I-I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings." The boy replied.

Lissa mentally kicked herself for setting her mind in a lost state. She should get a grip! It was time for work and she would continue to cause trouble if she let herself wander off her thoughts on her own again.

"I am the doctor of this school. Come, I would give you treatment in the clinic." Lissa took him by the arm and hoisted him up. He was just at the level of her nose, and he somewhat resembled Sawada Tsunayoshi. She was good at remembering and comparing faces so she couldn't help it but compare this boy's face to Tsuna. The only difference was he had red hair and red eyes. Tsuna had brown.

"I-I am fine. I'm used to trip and fall because I'm clumsy so…"

Lissa gave him a look. "The much more you should go to the clinic then. Come on, follow me." She then forcefully dragged the student with her.

.

.

.

"Ahh. Enma-kun is a transferred student from Simon Middle School? I heard from the news that an earthquake hit your area. I'm sorry about that." Lissa said as she tended the bump on Enma's forehead.

Enma flinched slightly from the cold compress being pressed on his aching forehead. He then felt his blood running through his cheeks as he saw how close Lissa was to him. He could even smell her perfume… and she smelled like Jasmine.

After few more presses, Lissa retrieved the cold compress and worked on plastering a square-shaped band aid on the lad's forehead. "I am also a transferee, I just started working here yesterday. I guess we are on the same boat, Enma-kun." She smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I-I-It's a pleasure to meet you, too… De Luca-sensei." He replied nervously.

Lissa giggled calmly, "Please, do not address me that way. It sounds weird. Just call me Lissa-sensei, okay?"

Enma blushed harder, "Y-yes, Lissa-sensei."

Lissa then stood up to arrange some things at the medicine cabinet, "If you feel bad, you can stay here in the clinic. I'll take good care of that bump for you and other injuries you have in your body. Which class are you in, anyway? I can excuse you if you can't manage to attend the homeroom."

Enma gestured his hands sideways. "I-I'm fine now, sensei. I'm assigned to be in class 2-A…"

"2-A? Oh! The same as Tsunayoshi-kun and… Gokudera-san." Lissa tried her best not to sound creepy as she said Hayato's name. It was sending her shivers whenever she remembers his face and states the lad's name. Because she knew… their match isn't over yet.

DING DONG DING DONG.

The school bell finally went off to start the morning classes. Enma stood up from his seat and began gathering his things.

Lissa went back to him, "Are you sure you're feeling all better? You fell hard when I bumped into you earlier."

The red-haired guy scratched the back of his head and bowed politely, "Thank you very much for your concern. I am definitely fine now, thanks to sensei's help. I will inform you when I feel bad so do not worry anymore. "

"All right. I apologize again for causing you problems. If you need something, just tell it to me. I still feel bad for bumping in to you in the middle of the road… we have attracted too much attention there, too. I'm really sorry."

Enma just laughed, "Don't worry about that, sensei. I'm used to being lame in front of others so… it's not a big deal. Well then, see you later. Have a nice day." He bowed one last time and exited the clinic.

Lissa felt so touched. So, there were still polite students around. She felt very happy upon discovering that. Well, the only ones that were kind to her yesterday were Tsunayoshi and the "baseball-freak" guy as stated by Hayato-the-grumpy. Allies are coming around to defend her from the two "bad" guys!

Forces of Justice are being united!

But the question is… are they strong enough to defeat the evil ones?

She hoped they were.

Indeed, she was pretty lucky this morning since she wasn't able to encounter neither Hayato nor Kyoya. She felt relieved that Enma was there to be taken quickly to the clinic. Who knows of what may happen if she didn't bump into Enma… there's a big possibility that her path would cross again with Hayato or Kyoya. If ever she would meet Hayato, she'd definitely make him drink the special amnesia pill she made last night just for him.

Yes, the amnesia pill would save her. Wait… the amnesia pill. Where did she put it again? She abruptly checked her belt, and then figured out that it was not there. She swiftly went to inspect her bag, nothing was there, too. Her pockets, coat, lab coat and shirt… she looked for it of where she could hide it. But, nothing came out. She searched in the entire clinic, still, she didn't see any signs of the amnesia pill.

Lissa leaned at the back of the door in horror. She brought her hands to her face and tried to remember her actions before coming to school. Then, she came up with the clear conclusion that bringing the pills with her before leaving the house slipped out of her mind. She was so occupied in thinking what was the nightmare all about and completely forgot a very important thing.

"_Shimatta…_ What should I do now?" she bit her lower lip.

_Calm down, Lissa. Calm down. You can do this. You can't be afraid of any of the students. They can't hurt you. You just need to calm down and think._ She took a very deep breath and composed herself. Once she felt cool, she started to think of a plan. Wait, she doesn't need a plan. Why would she have to get nervous if she isn't trying to hide something from Hayato? She could just continue telling him that all she gave him were "Energy Vitamins", if she kept on doing that, then he would get tired of it and forget it once he felt frustrated by hearing the same answer over and over again. Yes, that's what she'd do. She won't feel tensed whenever he's around, and she'll answer him calmly if he forces her to tell him her secret.

Act normal.

If violence occurred, hand over the resignation to the principal without any hesitations.

The perfect plan. But, the only thing is, Lissa De Luca can file the candidacy for the title of "The Worst Liar on Earth".

"Let's just see how lucky I am today…" she mumbled.

Before she could return to her table, a black figure from outside her window suddenly caught her eye. She turned to look at it one more time, but nothing was there anymore. She blinked her eyes several times and curiously stared outside the window. Looking at her left side, then at her right side. Still, nothing was there.

She frowned, "What was that about?"

Her eyes had never fooled her. She was sure… she just saw a small figure floating just outside her window.

"She sensed me… impressive." Mammon whispered to himself as he watched over Lissa from a tree few yards away from the clinic's window. "Maybe I should be more careful… she was just the only one who was able to suspect my presence in an illusion technique." He then flew down the branch, and turned himself invisible to anyone's naked eye.

* * *

Somewhere in Vongola Headquarters in Italy…

Vongola Nano entered a very dark room. Only candles lighted the area and a vault was settled on the table in the middle. Without even trying to remember the correct codes to open the vault, Vongola Nano successfully unlocked it. It revealed a test tube with fresh blood inside it.

Giotto's blood.

"It is time…" Timoteo said to himself.

"Ninth Boss…" Iemitsu said.

"Inform Reborn of this and we will—"

Before Nano could finish his statement, his words were cut by something in the vault. His eyes suddenly widened as widely as it could and he felt his throat get dry.

"Boss, what's the matter?" Iemitsu asked in alert.

It took a while before the Ninth Vongola Boss could find his words, with all nervousness in his voice, he replied, "It's gone…The ring… it's gone…"

Iemitsu frowned, not clearly understanding what the Boss was saying.

"Call Reborn! We have to inform Reborn of this! The whole Vongola is in danger!" The ninth boss commanded.

"I told you… it's just the Energy Vitamins!" Lissa replied for the 50th time for today as she was being followed by Gokudera at the hallways during lunch time.

"Like hell I'd believe that crap! Why won't you just tell the truth to me!?" Hayato impatiently yelled.

Lissa sighed, "I AM telling the truth. You just won't believe me."

"Because I am not convinced." Hayato stood in front of her, and blocked her path. "Do you know how deadly that garbage was? Ordinary energy vitamins won't work on it. Why won't you just spit out the truth?"

Lissa had no idea that this guy was very persistent. She was getting tired of lying. She was never good at it in the first place! But this Hayato was pushing her to her limits… he was definitely testing her patience.

"Please, step aside. I have to inspect the stored food in the storage room. If you do not know, I am also a busy person and I do not have time to waste in unnecessary things." Lissa said straightforwardly.

Hayato glared at her, "As if I care about that. Just tell me the medicine and I'll leave you alone."

Lissa smiled. "No."

"You're getting into my nerves, doc." Hayato threatened.

Lissa discreetly rolled her eyes, _"You're the one who's getting in my nerves, brat."_

"Please, stand aside, Gokudera-san."

"No."

"Stand aside."

"NO."

The corner of Lissa's lips twitched. Well, it would take a lot more of this to make her lose her patience. Dealing with the pushy Gokudera is nothing more than being with and living with Verde.

Their next fight commenced. Her main objective now is to get through Gokudera Hayato without involving violence. As she was about to step forward, Hayato's face suddenly became… weird. His eyes wide open… mouth forming a large "O"… and cheeks flushed. Lissa stared at him in bewilderment. His facial expression is much different from the previous one.

"The… UMA."

Lissa heard him mutter.

"UMA?" She blinked. She then followed his gaze and saw the weirdest thing—err—person(?) she had seen on Earth. The female student was bald except for a tiny portion of hair on her forehead and a huge "S" was tattooed on the right side of her head. She was also wearing sunglasses, and the most eccentric look she had was the two round inflatable rings around her body.

Without saying anything, Hayato suddenly rushed towards the so-called UMA and wore his eye glasses in the fastest way he could manage. He then tied his hair into a ponytail and brought out a small notebook. He was gone in a flash… it's as if he completely forgot about Lissa.

Lissa just shrugged at the randomness. Well, at least she got rid of Hayato. Now, back to work.

Within a minute, she got in the school canteen, and made her way to the storage room. She inspected the stored foods, beverages, and nutritional facts of each. She was done for about fifteen minutes or so, and there… mission accomplished.

She was on her way out of the school canteen when someone suddenly approached her.

"Yo, Lissa-sensei! How are you doing?"

A tall student, probably a six-footer, stood in front of her wearing a carefree smile on his boyish face.

Lissa remembered him, he was one of her allies. "Oh, nice to see you. You are Tsunayoshi-kun's friend, am I right? I'm doing fine. Ummm…"

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi." He replied with another genuine smile. Lissa could definitely see how friendly this person was.

"Is Hayato still bothering you? I heard you dumped him again… well… as his friend, can I request for you to give him another chance? It has only been two days since you came here in our school. I guess getting to know him better would not hurt that much, right?" Takeshi said as he scratched the back of his head. "He's not that bad. He may look like it but he's a good person."

Lissa nearly fell down from the boy's sudden words. He was definitely getting things wrong here. "Y-Yamamoto-kun, is it?" she smiled shakily.

The lad nodded.

"W-well… it's not what you think it is. You see, Gokudera-san does not see me that way. And even if that was his objective, I have no intention of going out with him or being romantically involved in him." Lissa explained. Seriously, how old was Gokudera? She knows that she's five years older than him. So… NO.

Takeshi blinked dumbly, "Hayato is not in love with sensei?"

Lissa giggled. "You should not jump into conclusions immediately, Yamamoto-kun."

Takeshi smiled embarrassingly, he lowered his head. "I apologize, sensei. I misunderstood." He then let out a soft chuckle.

Lissa shook her head. "It's fine. Besides, I'm impressed on how you care for your friend. You even approached me just to say that. I can say that you sure have guts."

"Really? Well… I really do thought Hayato was in love with you because he kept murmuring sensei's name to himself."

Lissa sweatdropped, "_Mumbling my name? I think that's too much for being in love. He might have the motive to strangle me." _She thought.

She then took a brief look at her wristwatch, "I wanted to stay to chat with you longer but I need to get back to the clinic. Don't miss your classes, okay?"

Takeshi nodded obediently, "_Hai._"

She then walked pass him and made her way towards the clinic. Takeshi's eyes trailed her as she walked away. All of a sudden, Lissa felt a strong pang shot her head. She was forced to halt on her steps and look for something to hold on. Her sight was blurry, and she didn't know what was happening to her. The next thing she knew, she had dropped her clipboard and felt a sense of falling acting upon her body.

"Sensei!"

Right in time, Takeshi had caught her before she completely fell down the floor. He held her arms and kept her in her balance.

"Are you all right? What's wrong, sensei?"

Thank God Takeshi was there. Thank God she was still conscious.

It took Lissa a while before she could answer, "I-I'm fine… just got a bit dizzy." She replied at the best way she could.

"Can you walk on your own? I can take you back to the clinic." Takeshi offered.

Lissa nodded weakly, "I can take care of myself. Thank you for your kindness, Yamamo—" before Lissa could complete her statement, a sudden image flashed in her mind. The same dreadful eye that she had seen in her nightmare… it was occupying her whole mind.

"_We are going to see each other soon, my dear. VERY soon."_

She heard the ever so scary voice of the man. Without her knowing, she started trembling.

That made Takeshi's worry grow bigger. "Lissa-sensei! What's wrong?!"

"No… no… please… stop…" she began mumbling.

"Answer me! Sensei! What's happening to you?!" Takeshi raised his voice.

The lad's voice somewhat helped Lissa get back to reality. When she could finally feel her legs again, she went away from Takeshi's supportive hold. Sight still cloudy, she reached for her clipboard and picked it up. Her body suddenly felt drained from experiencing such a weird thing in her head.

"I-I need to go… I-I'll be fine now. See you later." She then sprinted away, not even trying to listen to what Takeshi was going to say. She ran as fast as she could until she returned to the clinic. When she was finally alone in her quiet place, she leaned her back on the door and tried to endure everything. The dreadful eye… the scary voice… she was trying to get them out of her mind. But no matter what she did, it didn't work.

It kept haunting her thoughts. The voice kept repeating in her ears.

What was happening? Why was she feeling this? Why did she have to be invaded by that nightmare?

Why?

Everything was so messed up for Lissa De Luca.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**a/n:**

****yipee! They're starting to appear one by one. Please tell me what you think! REVIEW PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU. :)

**Vocabulary**

**Nigete- run away**

**Shimatta- crap**

**Hai- yes**


	7. Chapter 7: Silver Flash

**A/N:  
**

****Here I am, updating! yay. So, yeah. I'm just dropping by to upload this chapter since... I've been very busy lately. *sigh* so much for being in senior high... So tiring...

Please, Enjoy! ^^ Thank you so much for the reviews~!

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Silver flash**

It took Lissa a lot of effort to get back to her own self. Indeed, she was thankful for Takeshi's kindness to her that he even bothered to give her some food to eat and stay with her until she was feeling better. But of course, Lissa didn't want him to be late to his afternoon classes so she acted fine and told him that she was just hungry that's why she felt weak. Upon making the lad believe her, she successfully led him out of the clinic and made him go back to his class after lunch. Without worrying about that weird moment, she continued her work for the afternoon session.

It was already 5pm, and Lissa's work for the day was finally done. She was walking out of Namimori Middle School with the desire of going home for a nice, beautiful rest. She would stop thinking about that nightmare for the moment since it has been occupying her mind the whole day. When her brain's in the mood to solve that mystery out, she'd do it as soon as possible. Thinking of what would relax her body as she walked out the school campus, she heard some annoying noises at a certain area. That definitely distracted her.

"Losers! Having the guts to go against us!"

"What a weakling!"

"Look at how lame you guys are!"

When Lissa had discovered the source of the annoying voices, she didn't think twice on intervening.

"What do you think you guys are doing? Stop this nonsense this instance!"

Five heads sharply turned towards her as they heard her brave voice.

"Don't you know that bullying is the weakest way of fighting? Have you lost your minds?"

"Who the heck are you?" one of the three delinquents asked.

"Li-Lissa-sensei…" a soft voice came from the auburn head student who was beaten up on the ground. A red head boy settled beside him who also looked in a bad shape.

Lissa confidently walked towards them. "Leave these students alone. What did they do to make you guys treat them like this?"

"What did they do? That red head weakling just bumped into me and spilled sauce on my new shoes! I got pissed off by that! Don't you know that these shoes cause ten thousand yen?"

Lissa's brows furrowed, "But he apologized, right?"

"Yes, he did. But that doesn't change anything! He has to pay for ruining my shoes!"

"We need to teach this kid a lesson!"

Just as when the delinquents were about to attack Enma, Tsuna stood in front of him to serve as his shield. But even before they bullies get them, Lissa had stood in between them and the poor students.

"Stop it right there, you idiots!" Lissa yelled firmly. "Spilled sauce on your brand new shoes? Don't make me laugh! Enma-kun already apologized, didn't he? He admitted his mistake and lowered his head down for you, right? Just because he did something clumsy like spilling a sauce on your shoes, that doesn't mean you guys should treat him this way! Beating him up is just so much! You just made the things go the opposite! You now have the bigger mistake than Enma-kun."

"I don't care about that! Besides, I'm teaching him a lesson! You female teacher should stay away from this and go home with your tails between your legs!"

"I'm sorry but I'm not a teacher. I'm just a new school doctor in Namimori Middle School. There is no possibility that I would leave these students alone. Don't you still get it? You outnumber them. They choose not to hit back because they want to avoid violence. Tsunayoshi-kun even tried his best to protect Enma-kun despite knowing he'd get beaten up by the likes of you. Between you guys and them, Tsunayoshi-kun and Enma-kun are much braver! You are the cowards."

"What the fuck did you say?!"

One of the delinquent students couldn't control his temper anymore. He raised his fist and swiftly threw it towards her.

"Lissa-sensei!" Both Tsunayoshi and Enma shouted. They were about to come and help her but it seemed she didn't need any help.

Lissa had blocked his fist with her palms.

"I hate violence more than anything in this world. I avoid it as much as possible, if my mentor weren't that insistent to make me take self-defense lesson, I wouldn't have taken it. Hurting other people would be the last thing I do." She said. She then tightened her grasp on the boy's knuckles, making it hard for him to get away from her. "Listen, I am telling you this for your own good. You shouldn't throw your fists that easily… you would only use your fists if there are no other ways to solve your problems. Only use them if you want to protect something or someone important to you, not with these useless things such as not accepting the apology for ruining your shoes. There are more things important than that… So what if it got dirty? You can wash it on your own, right? But what if your parents found out that you beat two students up and got expelled from school? They would feel very sad… They are trying their best to give you guys a good life so don't ruin it by doing these kind of things! Of all people in the world, Tsunayoshi-kun and Enma-kun would not be the ones to end up getting hurt most… it would be your parents."

The three delinquents went silent, as well as Enma and Tsuna.

"So please… you have to stop bullying. Men shouldn't be like that. A one-on-one fight is acceptable as long as it's bare-handed… but going against someone who stands no chance against you; that is what we call being a coward." She gently gave the delinquent's fist back to him. And Lissa had seen the least expression she had expected to see from the three delinquent students.

They were all crying like snotty kids.

Lissa was more astounded than Tsuna and Enma had been. She had no idea that Japanese teenagers would have so soft and pure hearts.

"We… we apologize! Please, spare us! We regret everything we have done!" they all knelt down and lowered their heads sincerely.

It took a while before Lissa, Tsuna and Enma could respond from the imagery in front of them. Those three delinquents… who were so cruel and who had stone hearts… were crying river of tears right before their very eyes.

"I-I-I forgive you…" Enma finally spoke after several seconds.

Three heads shot up and looked at him with teary eyes. "Really?! Thank you very much! We will definitely not do it ever again!"

Seeing the boys' insecurity of the three weirdoes, she made the move to make them go away.

"Now you guys, go on and get out of here! It is never too late to start all over again. Apologize to those you have hurt and make things right. Remember, it is never too late to change and make things right in your life." Lissa said melodramatically. "Follow the horizon and do not feel ashamed of yourselves for going into the right path!"

"Hai, sensei!" the three obeyed like little children and then were out of sight as they began to choose the right path of their lives.

Lissa sighed in relief when the three handfuls were out of sight. She quickly went towards the two beaten up Namimori students to check their conditions. Unfortunately, both of them didn't look that good.

"It's a good thing I've found you guys here… but you were really brave, Tsunayoshi-kun. You protected Enma-kun even though you were outnumbered. You impressed me." She praised.

Tsuna's pink cheeks were still visible even from the dirt and bruises on his face.

Lissa reached for her shoulder bag and brought out a small first-aid kit. Afterwards, she brought out soft towels and soaked it in cold water before pressing it on their bruises. Both of the lads flinched from the sting.

"Luckily, nothing was wrong with your vital areas. But you do need to take care of those wounds. You took quite a beat from them… I wish I was able to come earlier to save you."

"I-It's okay, Lissa-sensei. We're very thankful that you came to help us. I'm sorry, too… If I were just careful, this wouldn't have happened. Tsunayoshi-kun… I'm deeply sorry for getting you involved in this." Enma bowed his head.

Tsuna waved his hands sideways, "S-stop that, Enma-kun! You don't have to apologize!" he said. "I wanted to help you… but I ended up being a burden so I'm sorry too."

Enma then had a sad look on his face, "If I were just strong… I could have taken those people all by myself. Lissa-sensei got involved also because of my weakness… I'm such a useless person."

Lissa grabbed Enma's hand between her soft palms. Enma blushed from the sudden contact. "Didn't you hear what I said, Enma-kun? It is never too late to change yourself as long as you know the right thing to do. If ever you need any help, I will be here for you."

Enma's eyes glittered in delight. It's as if it was his turn to cry.

"Isn't that great, Enma-kun? Lissa-sensei is here for you. And—"

All of a sudden, a flash of unknown light shone from Enma and Tsuna's necklaces. Enma, upon seeing this, quickly grabs his things and started sprinting away. Tsuna and Lissa were left confused on their spots.

"Wh-what was that about?" Lissa blinked in bewilderment. "Tsunayoshi-kun saw that, right? That flash of light…" her voice trailed off as her gaze fell upon the ring on his necklace.

Tsuna looked flustered. He quickly slid the necklace inside his shirt and it was his turn to excuse himself. "I-I-I better go and chase after Enma-kun. Thank you very much for your help, sensei. Please, be careful on your way home." He bowed respectfully at her and then followed where Enma was heading.

"Wai—"

It was too late for Lissa to stop the tenth Vongola. The two students she just helped were now out of sight.

Lissa couldn't help but sigh. "Weird things just keep on happening today… I'm tired… I'm so gonna get paid higher for this." She then kept the first aid kit back to her bag and stood up. "Well, their business is none of mine. I'm not involved. I'm not going to get involved in any more weird things because I've had enough. All I have to do is go home and have a warm bath. Relaxation relaxation relaxation." She rambled to herself as she walked away.

What Lissa didn't know, the lucky bracelet under her sleeves was emitting a silver glow.

And what Lissa didn't also know, pair of black round eyes observed her from the top of a nearby post. He wears a black fedora with a thick orange stripe running across the sides of the cone. He wears an all-black suit with a blue neck tie and black boots. He stood 40cm tall and had attractive sideburns on both of his cheeks.

"That woman… I've seen her before." Reborn said to himself. Before he could chase after the girl, a familiar arcobaleno caught his gaze. He quickly jumped down the post and approached the flying arcobaleno in Indigo attire.

"Mammon. What are you doing here?"

Mammon looked startled as he heard Reborn's voice. The least person he wanted to see…

"Reborn," Mammon paused, "I should ask you the same."

"Tsuna's school is nearby. I always walk here with Tsuna." Reborn answered. "Tell me. Are you spying on that girl? Why are you following her?"

"What are you talking about? I just happen to pass by from depositing money in the bank. I don't have time to talk to you, Reborn. I must go." Mammon replied calmly and turned away from the holder of the Sun Pacifier.

Reborn watched Mammon disappear into thin air. He was not convinced by Mammon's explanation—excuse. He knew… something was going on with that girl and Mammon is on a mission to spy on her. After all, anyone could be the chosen wielder of "that" ring according to Boss Timoteo. Even a woman like Lissa could be a suspect…

* * *

Varia Base, 9pm.

"Boss. Mammon is taking too long. Maybe I—"

"Hold your tongue, Leviathan. That money brat will be back soon." Xanxus said as he spun his chair to avoid seeing Levi's face.

"But spying on that girl will not be very hard to do, right? She is just an ordinary woman! How could she take so much time of Varia? If this leaks out, the other families would think that Varia has lowered its quality. I think a woman like her would not be suitable to be a member of our squad and might be a burden to our family. What if—"

"Shut the fuck up, scum."

Xanxus's words effectively stopped the loyal underdog from saying more. "If all you want to say is nonsense, get out of my office and wait for Squalo to arrive. Tell him that I have a mission for him."

"Boss. Squalo will not be here for three weeks. He is still in Italy, taking care of Mafia business with concerning our famiglia. If you would like, I would do the mission for him." Levi offered.

Xanxus scoffed, "Then tell the scum to come back sooner. I have a mission for _him_." His tone hardened.

Levi could do nothing but obey the boss. "Yes. Roger that." He then bowed, "Do you need anything else, boss?"

"You can go. I have nothing else to make use of you for now."

Levi curtsied and walked across the room to leave. Before he could open the door, someone else did the work for him and a floating baby came inside.

"Ma-mammon! You're back!" the underdog exclaimed.

Mammon flew pass him normally as if he wasn't there at all. He quickly went down to business with Xanxus.

The Varia boss spun around to face Mammon, legs crossed under the table, hands entangled in front of his scarred face. "So?"

"Just as I expected. Lissa De Luca did not let me down." Mammon began with his report, "I finally found out her identity. As usual, my intuition is correct. Lissa De Luca is not an ordinary person, she is Verde's apprentice and the mysterious scientist who makes the best pills in the world."

"Verde… that Arcobaleno with the Lightning Pacifier?" Lussuria asked.

Mammon nodded, "Even without special abilities, she was able to feel my presence. I had to use a stronger illusion to hide myself from her and she was the very first person who was able to see through my technique. I was not wrong with that girl… she is extraordinary. But, she doesn't have the interest in fighting even though she knew how to fight. I've discovered she is against violence of all things."

"Against violence? Are you sure of that woman, boss? If she is to be a member of our squad, she must have the ability to kill! We are not accepting those who have weak personalities like her. Women are like that. Soft and easily scared and _easily killed_. They are burdens and good-for-nothing in a battle. What if she would bring down the standing of our famiglia? She would get herself killed in our organization and we will not make any use of her. Are you sure of inviting her to Varia?" Levi complained.

Mammon glared at him, "Lissa De Luca is not as weak as you think. It's not that I am praising Verde, but she is an apprentice of one of the strongest and smartest people in the world. Remember that he is chosen to be an arcobaleno… and being Verde's student means also following his footsteps. Have you not heard of her special talent? She can make the best pills in the world! Bel and I were able to witness how Lissa De Luca was able to save the boss of Chiavarone Family. She will be useful under our hands." He defended.

"Apprentice of an arcobaleno or not, is she strong enough to be an assassin? It's not always the brains, Mammon. If you want to be a member of the Varia, you have to be strong and merciless when it comes to your enemies!"

"She is against violence. But that doesn't mean she didn't know how to fight. She knows how to defend herself by just thinking of tactics and not using her skills in fighting. She is quite charming, too. She can use her beauty in seducing the enemies and she'd be a great spy. Why are you so against her? She will definitely be a great money-maker!"

"Money-maker? I knew it. You only want that woman for your own self-interest. You want her to make you money. If that's your only motive of informing Boss about her special abilities, you should've just kept her to yourself! We do not need someone like her in our squad!"

The back-and-forth argument between Mammon and Levi continued. It was only stopped when Xanxus suddenly began producing soft chuckles. Later on, that soft chuckle became a very loud guffaw.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Mammon and Levi stopped and stared in bewilderment.

"Boss?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Xanxus continued his manly laughs, "That bitch… she's interesting. HAHAHAHA!"

Levi frowned. He felt irritated. "But Boss! We can't have someone who isn't qualified to be a member!" he objected.

Xanxus's laughter stopped and he slammed his fist on his large working table. "I want her in our organization. Do you have a problem with that, scum?" his fierce eyes glared directly at Levi's. "Are you questioning my decisions, huh?"

"I-It's not like that, boss."

"Then shut up. Whether you like it or not, or she likes it or not… she will be a member of this organization. I will have Lissa De Luca." Xanxus stated in a serious tone. "Mammon, continue keeping an eye on her. Get more information about her abilities. When Squalo returns, that will be the moment our family will claim her."

"Understood." The holder of the Mist Pacifier replied. He gave Levi a mocking stare. Submitting a mental message of victory.

Levi cursed Mammon inwardly. Soon… he would make that baby pay for EVERYTHING. He swore.

* * *

Two weeks have passed…

Doctor Lissa was getting used of the system of Namimori Middle School. And what she had not expected, whenever she goes to school, her working table would be full of gifts from the students. Flowers, chocolates, stuff toys… it wasn't Valentine's yet. She wondered why they were keep sending and sending her those gifts. What's worse? Students who don't even feel bad or sick go to the clinic and pretend to be sick. That's what made her mad. She couldn't get their objective! They want to cut classes so they go to the clinic and pretend they feel bad? The nerve. There isn't a student who'd step out of the clinic not hearing a piece of her mind.

Well… being smart is not always consistent. Just like what was happening to Lissa.

As usual, Hayato would bother her every lunch. But, she coped with the situation. She had discovered a way to get rid of him easily. It was all thanks to Shitt. P,, who made the work easier for her. Whenever he would go and bother her, she would tell him about Shitt. P because she somewhat found out that the delinquent has been interested in the eccentric-looking girl.

Hibari Kyoya seemed to stop bothering her also since the arrival of a new student who had the guts to stand up against him. Lissa was shocked to hear that the girl, Adelheid Suzuki, confronted the anti-social prefect and demanded for a fight. She was relieved that either of the two got hurt that bad. Well, she has a strong feeling that Kyoya would be too prideful to not even step inside the clinic despite having a severe condition.

A lot did happen for two weeks. Even if the school brought her so much weirdness and mystery, she grew to love it even more. Namimori Middle School was not that bad. Especially the students(excluding those who pretend to be sick just to skip classes and spend the whole day in the clinic which she didn't know why the students kept doing in spite of her sermons). She was starting to grow fond of Tsuna, Enma, Takeshi, Ryohei and Hana. Ryohei was an extremely energetic lad and she was happy seeing him like that. She had never seen such an enthusiastic person before, so witnessing Ryohei was new to her daily life. Whilst, Hana has been really respectful and helpful to her. Going to the clinic to ask her if she needed anything to be done, volunteering to be her part-time assistant whenever she had a break time and helping her keep those students away from the clinic except for those who are really sick. Hana really was a great help to her.

Japan sure is a very interesting country. Lissa wanted to learn more about it. She did make a huge progress of adapting to her new environment, but… there was no progress of her search for Master Verde. She didn't also know where to start looking for Reborn to ask him about her master's current coordinates. She never knew that looking for her noble master was harder than she thought. Italy was a bigger country than Japan, though.

Lissa heaved another sigh. She wasn't used of something bothering her mind. All the bothersome things happened to her ever since she stepped into the land of the rising sun. The scary man from her dream, Hibari Kyoya, Gokudera Hayato, the feeling of being watched by someone, searching for Verde, and that silver flash she saw from Tsuna and Enma. Those thoughts came inside her all at once. Not one at a time. Seriously, it was very troublesome. She just hoped she could forget them all in one snap of a finger, but no matter how hard she tried, her mind wouldn't obey her. So until now, they all come to her full force.

"_A-anou_… sensei." A wimpy voice came from the clinic's door.

Lissa effortlessly shifted her gaze towards the guest, whom she predicted to be another student who'd pretend to be sick. But it's a relief that it was just Sawada Tsunayoshi. She gave the lad a heart-warming smile.

"Ah, Tsunayoshi-kun! _Doushita no_?"

Tsuna vaguely scratched the back of his head. His face clearly red as tomato as he spoke.

"W-well… Y-you see…" he gulped hard, "If-If it's all right with sensei… w-would you like to… come to my house af-after school?"

Lissa blinked several times. Did she hear him right?

Upon seeing Lissa's perplex, Tsuna immediately explained himself to not let the doctor get the wrong ideas. "M-My mother wanted to meet sensei! And the kids in our house and my tutor… so… I-is it all right?"

"Of course, it is. I happen to be free after school. I would love to meet Tsunayoshi-kun's mother." Lissa replied.

"E-eh?! Y-you can decline, sensei." Tsuna exclaimed.

"I want to meet Tsunayoshi-kun's mother. I'm sure she's a very fine mom to have grown a kid like you. And I also want to know what kind of person your tutor is. So, do not worry. I'm not forcing myself, if you're thinking about that. I'm sincerely agreeing to what you want." Lissa smiled brightly.

Imaginary lightning struck Tsuna in one strong hit. "I-it's not that…" he whispered to himself. _I don't want to let sensei know that my home tutor is a baby… and I definitely don't believe that it's she who saved Dino-san from his accident last week. I shouldn't have asked her out just because Dino-san's description about the woman who saved him is very similar to Lissa-sensei's characteristics… What should I do now?_

"I'd be free after 4pm, you can call me anytime you want after that time. I'm certainly excited to meet your mom."

So, in the end… Tsuna wasn't able to change anything. All he could do was to say "yes" to his sensei and ensure to pick her up after her work. He will start to prepare himself for the ultimate shame he'd experience later.

* * *

"Hmmm… so that's the bitch that Boss and Mammon were talking about." Came a deep voice from a man with long silver hair. He was crouched on top of a post, his left arm made by a sharp sword. Narrow and keen eyes drawn on the beautiful woman inside the clinic, observing her every move.

"Hn. So this is the beauty that made Mammon and Levi fight. Interesting… I just have to get that weakling tenth boss away before I kidnap her."

He jumped down the post and started to look for a more hidden place to guard the doctor. Indeed, she had no idea that she was being monitored by a Mafia family.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**A/N:**

Please R&R! :)) Thank you! And so... he finally showed himself. kekekeke.

**Vocabulary**

**Anou- umm**

**Doushita no- what's wrong?**


	8. Chapter 8: Meeting the Shark

**a/n:  
**

****thank you very much for the reviews! They make me soooooooo happy! ^^

so, I hereby give you, my beloved readers, chapter 8!

please, enjoy. Don't forget to review! ^^

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN! **(I laughed at myself when I saw the disclaimer on Chapter 7... I didn't know why I put Fairy Tail there. Well, probably I was reading FT manga or FT fanfiction(GraLu fan here!) that time. hahaha.)

* * *

**Chapter 8: Meeting the Shark**

Lissa could have called her day an "ok day" since she was invited by Tsunayoshi to come to his house to meet his mother. Everything would be okay for her. Her companions were Tsuna, of course, and Takeshi, that made it more okay. But… one tiny little thing just got in her breath of saying that today was an "ok" day. If it wasn't for Gokudera Hayato, she wouldn't be half-smiling as she walked with the students towards Tsuna's home.

_Why does he have to be here? _

Lissa thought to herself as she secretly glared menacingly at Hayato.

The lad, upon noticing her glare, turned his gaze towards her. Lissa immediately shifted away with a sigh.

"Why were you staring at me, doc?" Hayato asked impolitely.

Lissa started to distance herself more from the silver-haired guy. "I wasn't staring." She defended..

"I just caught you." Hayato rolled his eyes, "Hey, if you want to say something, just spit it out."

"Ah! Hello Shitt. P-san!" Lissa enthusiastically waved her hand.

In a blink of an eye, Hayato transformed into the one with the glasses which Lissa laughed her ass off the first time seeing it.

"Where?"

While the delinquent was occupied by the thought of Shitt. P being nearby, Lissa advanced on her footsteps and walked in between Tsuna and Takeshi, a very sure place where there is no probability that Hayato could walk beside her.

Takeshi and Tsuna both sweatdropped when they saw Hayato completely falling for the doctor's trick.

Indeed, that was lame.

It took several seconds for Hayato to realize that it was just a joke. He changed back to the Hayato without glasses and ran after the tricky doctor. Before he could get his revenge, Tsuna spoke.

"We're here! W-welcome to my home, sensei."

Lissa's eyes explored the outside of the student's house. "Oh. What a lovely home." She smiled.

"It's not just lovely, it's lively." Takeshi commented with a gentle smile on his face. "Right, Tsuna?"

"U-Uh… yeah." Tsuna heaved a nervous laugh. "Right this way, sensei." Deep inside, he was hoping that nobody was home. But that was impossible.

Once they got inside, before Tsuna could even say "_Tadaima"_, two little children were chasing after each other. The one was wearing a cow costume with a plate of fried shrimp on his hands, and the other one with huge forehead and small eyes wore a red Chinese outfit.

"Lambo! Get back here! Those shrimps are not for you! It's for Maman's visitor!"

"These are mine! These are mine! Lambo-san wants to eat these!"

"LAMBO! STOP!"

And so, the child called Lambo bumped into Tsunayoshi at the doorway for not paying attention at his way. Tsuna, as usual, fell down the ground lamely in front of the doctor. The child with the Chinese attire skillfully caught the plate of shrimp, perfectly not letting one of them get wasted.

Lissa blinked at the scene.

"Hey! You dumb cow! Get off _Jyuudaime_ right now!" Hayato quickly came to the aid of Tsuna, kicking the little cow away, hitting the wall.

Lissa gasped. "Hey! You shouldn't do that!" she scolded Hayato.

Hayato ignored Lissa's voice, he just helped Tsunayoshi stand up and ensure that nothing was hurting in his boss.

Takeshi was just laughing with his arms behind his head.

Taking her shoes off and placing them properly at the shoe rack, she raced towards where the cow-child flew. She bent her knees and examined the kid.

"Can you move? Where does it hurt?" she asked concernedly.

She felt relieved when the kid began moving. He quickly regained his pace and had a furious look. "Why do you keep on getting in my way you ugly jerk?!" he pointed at Hayato.

"Ugly Jerk?! Try saying that again, dumb cow! I'm gonna blow you up!" Hayato positioned his hands to where he'd get his explosives but Tsuna immediately stopped him before he could bring out the harmful items.

"You will not eat Maman's shrimps! I'm going to be the one to eat them all and I won't give any of them to you low lives!" Lambo exclaimed and stuck out his tongue at the guardians and I-Pin.

I-Pin placed the plate behind her to protect it from Lambo. "How many times do I have to tell you, this is for Boss's school doctor! Not for you, Lambo!"

"I don't care, Lambo-san will still eat it all!"

"Oh, so you're called Lambo." Lissa decided to interrupt before the fight between Hayato and the BRATS worsen.

The thunder guardian impudently turned to Lissa who was standing beside him. "Who are you? Why are you calling my name as you please?"

Lissa just giggled, "You're such a cute child. Just impolite. I bet Gokudera-kun was the one who turned you like that, huh?" she smiled at him and touched his afro hair. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lissa."

Usually, Lambo would push someone away if he or she tries to touch his puffy hair. He wouldn't even let the other guardians to touch his hair especially that dumb Hayato. But, this doctor… she was too different. Lambo could feel very at ease with her touch. So, he had done a very unimaginable thing that no one in the family had ever expected to happen.

Lambo blushed and apologized for his rudeness to her. He began fidgeting his fingers as he looked at her gentle and pretty face. "Ummm… Can Lambo-san have few of the shrimps that Maman made for you?" he asked cutely.

"Of course you can, silly. If you really love shrimp, then I don't mind giving it all to you." Lissa brought the adorable Lambo to her arms and carried him. "What a cute child… I thought you weren't polite but I was wrong. Gokudera-grumpy just scared you, huh?"

Hayato's eyebrow twitched when he heard the doctor speak his name. "That Bitch!" he was fully decided to get those explosives from his belt, but Takeshi helped Tsuna calm him down.

"I think it's best for you to stay away from Gokudera-nii and just stick with the good guys like Tsunayoshi-nii and Takeshi-nii, okay?" Lissa told Lambo.

"I don't need any of them. I am much stronger and smarter than them." Lambo said proudly.

Lissa giggled harmonically, "You are such a cute child!" she then pinched his nose.

After a few seconds, series of loud thuds came from the house's stairs and it all ended in the last loudest thud. Before they knew it, a blond-haired man was lying on the floor beneath the stairs, face kissing the flat plane. He just landed in front of I-Pin.

"Oh my!" Lissa exclaimed. With her doctorly instincts, she quickly ran towards the fallen man with Lambo on her arms to help him and give him first aid if ever he hurt something in his body. The stairs was quite long so she could predict that he may have some bruises.

"Dino-san! Are you all right?!" Tsuna's anxiousness shot through him.

"Tsk. Useless guy without his subordinates. Weakling." Hayato mumbled, which Lissa heard and made her glare at him for all reasons again as if he was the bad guy of all times.

Wait. Dino? She heard that name before.

"I-I'm all right, Tsuna-kun. Just tripped there." The blond man said. He began lifting his face up to meet Tsuna, Hayato, I-Pin, Takeshi, Lambo and then… Lissa. His beautiful eyes instantly got glued on her face.

Oh. Lissa could remember him now. He was the person whom she saved who got hit by a car several weeks ago. It was really great to see him all well. Well, it was her pills which saved him so he'd be better in just twenty-four hours. And no need to worry, she's sure that Dino couldn't remember her since she used the time-freeze device her master Verde gave her.

"You should be more careful, Dino-san_. Mou_. You just recovered from a car accident." Tsuna said.

Dino ignored him all the way. His whole attention was focused at Lissa who was bent beside him. His golden brown eyes trailed every inch of her face. "It's you…" he whispered.

"Pardon?" Lissa tilted her head.

Before Lissa knew it, his hand was caressing her cheeks, just like what he did when he saw her the first time.

The beautiful doctor literally froze on her spot. She felt her cheeks heating up.

"It really is you! I can't believe I'd be able to see you again!" Dino exclaimed as he pulled Lambo away from her grasp, placing the cow at the side to get out of the blond's way. He inched closer to her and touched her hands. "Is this fate? I thought I'd never see you again."

"Eh!? So it really is Lissa-sensei who saved Dino-san from the car accident?" Tsuna was wide-eyed.

Lissa was not in the right state to answer.

She was confused. SOOOO confused.

_Why? Why does he know me? Why can he remember me? I used the time-freeze device on him… I gave his subordinates amnesia pills. How? How does he know that I exist?_

"I wasn't able to thank you properly when you saved me from the accident. I owe you my life so much. If there's anything you need or you want, I will give it to you. Anything." Dino said with his voice full of sincerity.

All of what Dino proposed didn't register in Lissa's mind.

She was in the process of getting broken.

"May I know your name, doctor? It would be an honor for me to know you." He gave off a princely smile, making Lissa shiver.

Still, the doctor didn't response. Everything was buffering.

"Sensei… are you all right? What's wrong?" Tsuna asked in concern.

No response. Eyes glued at Dino's face, whole body stiffed, and cheeks red as tomato.

_How… how can he remember me?_

A very loud noise only made Lissa snap out of her trance.

"AAAAH! So you were the one who did that damn miraculous job to save this tripping boss! YOU AGAIN! Just like what you did to me when Aniki forced me to eat her deadly cooking!" Hayato yelled like hell.

Lissa twitched. _Crap_. One problem after another.

"I'm not going to believe your lame excuses anymore. Tell me… what medicine did you give me that time?!" Hayato was about to charge towards her, but thank God a woman with straight pink hair came out of the dining room, making the delinquent vomit with unknown reason.

Lissa sighed in relief. Relief that Hayato was vomiting and not having the strength to strangle her or anything.

"Oh, you guys are back. I believe that she is the doctor you were always talking about, Boss Tsuna. Indeed, she is beautiful." The woman said.

Tsuna blushed. Embarrassed to let the doctor know that he was talking about her every after school.

"B-Bianchi!"

"Why? Embarrassed to let the pretty doctor know that you have a secret crush on her?" Bianchi raised a brow. "Sensei, let's go. The food is ready inside and Maman is waiting for you." She smiled sweetly at her.

Lissa mustered her strength to stand up and get away from Dino's grasp. She gave Hayato one look to ensure if he could move, and thank goodness he could not. So, Lissa straightened herself and followed Bianchi towards the dining room to meet Tsuna's mother. She felt a little better for hearing that Tsuna had a secret crush on her. But she had to deal with Dino later to settle everything. She can't seem to think of any convincing excuses yet to tell him.

This will be much complicated than dealing with the gullible Hayato. It's a good thing that he was passed out from that vomiting. Takeshi just placed him on the sofa of the living room and ignored him all the way to the dining room.

"Welcome, Lissa-sensei! It is nice to see you here!" Tsuna's mom exclaimed with a wide smile on her face.

The dining table was full of delicious foods. Deserts, delicacies, meals, sea foods and Italian foods.

Lissa could conclude that Tsuna's mom was a great cook. Just seeing the food's appearance and smelling its scent… it's a bomb.

"So your name is Lissa… what a suitable name for a fine woman like you." Lissa heard Dino say but she ignored it. As much as possible, she wanted to stay away from the handsome guy and make sure he doesn't say anything about how she saved him. Especially about the pill she gave him. Or else…

It was her doom. Those hidden organizations would come and get her. No one would ever expect how strong the connections are. The hard work she spent on hiding herself for all those years would be only destroyed by this simple mistake.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sawada-san." Lissa said as normally as she could.

"Please, have a seat. Don't be shy and make yourself feel at home." Nana said as she pulled out a chair for the doctor, beckoning her to sit on it.

Lissa gladly accepted the offer and sat down. Lambo ran toward her in a flash and settled himself on her lap. "I want to eat here! I want to eat here!" he said.

"Sure." Lissa smiled at him. If she had the child on her lap, she could use him as a shield against Dino. It's a good thing that Bianchi was seated right next to her. She could use the pink-haired woman as a shield against Gokudera then.

And so… the feast began.

* * *

After an hour…

Everyone was finished eating. They all seemed to look more than satisfied with Nana's cooking. Indeed, that was the first time Lissa had tasted something so delicious in her entire life.

"Lambo-san is so full…" the kid in a cow suit said as he patted his bumpy stomach.

"Lambo-chan has a strong appetite, eh? But you should learn to eat more vegetable than meat. All you ate for dinner is meat." Lissa said, Lambo was still seated on her lap.

"But Lambo-san hates vegetables! They taste so yucky!"

"Don't say that, Lambo! The vegetables don't deserve those remarks from you!" I-Pin argued.

"I don't care! I will never ever eat them unless they taste good as meat!"

Lissa sweatdropped, "A stubborn kid, isn't he?"

Bianchi, who was drinking a glass of beer beside her, sighed. "Yeah. Those kids are worse than this everyday and they drive me nuts. Sometimes, I thought of poisoning them so they won't bother me anymore."

Lissa blinked at Bianchi's words, "Eh?"

"Oh, never mind. Here." Bianchi placed an empty glass in front of Lissa. "Let's just drink." She was about to pour a bottle of beer into the lady's glass but she was stopped.

"I'm sorry. I don't drink…" Lissa gently declined the offer.

"What? Is it because you're a doctor?" Bianchi frowned, "Oh come on. It won't hurt that much if you have fun once in a while, right?"

Lissa placed Lambo down from her lap and stood up. "I really am sorry but I cannot accept your offer, Bianchi-san." She then turned to look at Dino, who was staring at her the whole time. It made her eating so complicated earlier. "Umm… Dino-san, may I talk to you for a moment?"

Dino energetically stood up from his seat, but accidentally hitting his thigh to the table during the process. He whined at the pain first, but it was gone after a second. "Anything you want, Lissa-chan!"

Lissa smiled at him and then she looked at the others, "Please, excuse us for a while." She then grabbed Dino by the hand and went out of the dining room. While on her way, she saw Gokudera lifelessly lying down on the sofa.

"I wonder what they'd talk about…" Tsuna said.

Bianchi shot the tenth boss a mocking stare, "Why? You getting jealous?" she smirked.

Tsuna's face turned red, "I-it's not that!" he defended lamely.

"You're so easy to read." Bianchi commented before having another shot at her beer.

"Oh, by the way… has anyone of you seen Fuuta-kun and Reborn-kun? They didn't join us during dinner." Nana interrupted as she was beginning to clean things up. Takeshi obliged to help her.

"Ah! That's right! I forgot about Reborn! Where is he?" Tsuna stood up from his seat in alert.

"Reborn said he needed to take care of something for a moment. He went out with Fuuta. They said they wouldn't take too long." Bianchi said.

"I see. Hmmm. It's sad that they missed the feast. But no worries, I'll make dinner exclusively for them!" Nana enthusiastically exclaimed as she made her way to the refrigerator to look for food.

"Yay! More food!" Lambo celebrated.

"Those are not for you! They are for Fuuta and Reborn, Lambo. You already ate too much! You didn't even give shrimps to Lissa-sensei!" I-Pin scolded, but Lambo ignored her all the way.

"_I wish Lissa-sensei would be gone before Reborn and Fuuta return…" _Tsuna prayed mentally.

.

.

.

When Lissa and Dino were finally alone outside the house of Tsunayoshi, Lissa didn't waste any more time and got started with her mission.

"Dino-san, listen…" Lissa began. She was glad to see that the handsome guy was giving her his entire attention. "You… clearly remember everything that happened during that day, don't you?"

"What kind of question is that, Lissa-san? Of course, I remember. There's no way that I can forget that." Dino answered.

Lissa directly stared at his brown eyes, "Really? You remember it all? Everything about how I saved you?"

Dino nodded, "Yes. Everything is clear to me. Your voice, your face, and the people around me. I was just wondering why everything was frozen at that time but maybe that's just because of my condition."

Lissa was shot by a stunning silence. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was formed in a small shape of "O". _This can't be. He could remember everything during that time. The time-freeze device didn't affect him? How can that be? How did that happen? Master Verde told me that the device works 100% accurate. No more, no less. But… why was this happening? Why wasn't this man affected?_

"Lissa-san? What's wrong?" Dino asked concernedly upon noticing her sudden silence.

Lissa furrowed her eyebrows, "Dino-san… you are not a normal person, are you?"

Dino blinked in surprise.

"I-I don't mean it in a bad way, if you know what I'm talking about. It's just that… I think you're not an ordinary person because you were able to… able to… uhh… remember all those things." Lissa cursed herself for stuttering.

"You mean that I shouldn't remember everything about you? About how you saved me? You know what, I also found it weird when I woke up in the hospital. It just took three days and I was able to go back to my normal condition. I know that I was hit by the car severely and it would have already killed me if you weren't there to give me your mysterious medicine. The ambulance wouldn't even be able to save me unless the doctors could perform an on-the-spot surgery in the middle of the road," he paused and leaned closer to Lissa. "And what confused me more is why Romario and the others weren't able to remember you… but according to my other subordinates, Romario was the one who drove you back to your house as a temporary gratitude."

Lissa shifted her gaze. She looked everywhere except at him.

"Listen, Di-Dino-san, please… you have t-to understand me." Lissa gulped hard before starting. She mustered all the strength inside her to force her eyes at his direction. "The pills… that is what I gave you. That time, you wouldn't make it for another two or three minutes so I was forced to use my special pills on you and… I made everything stop as I cure you with the pill so anyone wouldn't witness how I saved you and they wouldn't remember anything. I-It's complicated to explain and I know it's really weird and I don't even know how to make you believe what I'm saying and I-I just don't know what to do when I found out that you could remember me despite my usage of the device—"

Dino placed a hand on top of her shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly, "I get it, I get it. You don't have to worry about that anymore because I believe you. So, get to the point and tell me what you really want me to do."

Lissa felt her heart skip a beat, no one had ever touched her shoulder like that. Well, except for Verde. But, Dino was a different person. "P-Please… do not tell anybody about the pills I gave you. Making pills is my talent and I'm being hunted by dangerous organizations around the world since my pills can cure any sickness, boost a person's strength and many other more. If-If my real identity would be found out then… I don't know what would come of me. So… can Dino-san keep a secret?"

Dino nodded, "If that's what you want, it is all right with me. I will keep your secret, Lissa-san. Do not worry. You're safe with me."

Lissa looked delighted, "Really?! Thank you so much! This means a lot to me… Thank you." She smiled cheerfully at him.

Dino looked contented by her expression, "Nice smile."

That's it. Lissa was definitely blushing madly.

For the first time in her life, she spoke to a guy privately. She could admit that she was definitely not good with boys, especially talking to them. Well, Tsuna, Gokudera and Takeshi were different cases because she treats them like children. Dealing with those of her same age was the hardest of all. She would always stutter, like what happened to her and Dino just now.

"Lissa de Luca, Verde's apprentice. No wonder you look so familiar… You've grown." A voice came from behind them and both heads turned towards the source of the voice. Their eyes were welcomed by a less than two-feet tall child who was wearing a black suit.

It didn't take long for Lissa to realize who the child was. Before Dino could greet the small creature, it was Lissa who exclaimed for his name.

"Ma-master Reborn?!"

The boy with brown hair who stood beside Reborn, spoke. "It is confirmed that she really is Lissa De Luca-san, Reborn-san."

"Sensei, you know Lissa-san?" Dino asked.

Reborn walked towards them and nodded. "Ciaosu. Long time no see, Lissa."

The doctor bent in front of the Arcobaleno and brought him up. "Master Reborn is still cuter than Master Verde!" she exclaimed, "I'm so glad I finally found you! I didn't know where to start of my search… but now all my problems are solved."

"I am happy to see you too, Lissa. It's been a long time since we last saw each other… eight years ago, perhaps? I first saw you when Tsuna and Enma are being lamely beaten by three bullies. I was impressed by the courage you've shown and you reminded me of someone I know. So, to make myself sure of my haunch, I asked Fuuta to do some research on you."

"I was being observed?" Lissa asked.

"Yes. It was me." Fuuta raised his hand and brought out papers from an envelope. Those papers contained information about her.

"Oh… no wonder I felt like I'm being watched. So it was just a kid… What a relief. I thought someone from the nasty organization has discovered me." Lissa heaved a sigh.

"It is dangerous for you to be here, Lissa. Why have you come alone? Verde wouldn't want you to be alone in this country." Reborn said.

"I know that. But he's exactly the reason why I am here. I need to find him and bring him back home." Lissa explained, "It's been a year since master and I last saw each other and I lost contact with him. I don't know what's happening to him or where he is and I'm getting very worried. Master's subordinates seemed to know what was happening but they won't tell it to me no matter how hard I pleaded. So, I've decided to go to Japan by myself because I found out that master Reborn is here and he may know where my Master is."

Reborn cupped his chin and went down from Lissa's arms. "Is that so?" he then was drawn into deep thinking.

"Yes. I sincerely ask for your help, master Reborn. I want to know where Master Verde is…" Lissa said.

Reborn stared at her, "I am sorry, Lissa. I don't know where that mad scientist is."

"Eh?"

"I haven't seen him for a while and I never wanted to get in touch with that man." Reborn said straightforwardly despite knowing that the woman in front of him was the scientist's apprentice.

"H-he's not in Japan anymore? When and where did you last saw him?" Lissa asked desperately.

"You see, Verde and I got involved in a battle. He somewhat played the enemy role back then, so we Arcobalenos developed a much complicated relationship with him. He was a jerk and he certainly pisses me off so I don't want to know anything about what he's doing for the meantime." Reborn replied, "It's best for you to go back to Italy, Lissa. You wouldn't find your master here. Just wait for him to go back home."

"But… I can't do that. I need to find him. What if he doesn't come back soon? What if he's sick right now and no one is taking care of him? What if he's in danger and he needs my help? His experiments are always dangerous and his inventions never let him take a break… He needs to be found as soon as possible. I need to bring him back home, Master Reborn. There is no way that I could just go back empty handed." Lissa argued. She then focused her look at Fuuta.

"Fuuta-kun, right?" She asked and the kid nodded. "You're good at gathering data, yes? Just like what you were doing to me these past few days. Can you help me find my master?"

"Lissa, Fuuta is just a child. He cannot just go out and find an arcobaleno. You know Verde best. He doesn't go to safe places for his experiments. That would be dangerous for Fuuta." Reborn said.

That struck Lissa for the moment. Reborn had a point. Seriously, what was happening to her? Before setting off to Japan to find Verde, she promised herself that she would not get anyone involved in her searching mission for she knew that it would be dangerous. She even didn't want for the subordinates to get in trouble just because of her hardheadedness on finding Verde. But, what was she doing now? She just asked for the help of a child to locate Verde.

"I-I'm sorry. I got carried away… forget I said that." She apologized and bowed.

Dino looked at her with slightly surprised eyes. He never knew that this doctor had such background. At first, she was being hunted by dangerous organizations because of her miracle pills, and now… he also found out that this doctor was the apprentice of the Lightning pacifier holder, Verde. Both of them were apprentices of Arcobalenos. His master was Reborn, and her master was Verde. That is very surprising. But he kind of felt sorry for her because he could see how eager she was to search for her master but being told by her only hope(Reborn) to drop it and go back home.

Before the conversation continued, a very wrong timing distraction interrupted the four of them.

"Dino-san, Lissa-sensei! What's taking you guys so long?"

The voice came from none other than the "No-good Tsuna".

"Okaa-san said that you should get in—" before the youngster can finish his statement, his eyes propped out as he saw Lissa talking to Reborn. "Re-Re-Reborn!" he pointed accusingly.

Lissa nearly forgot it. She was in Tsunayoshi's house. And… wait. It just sunk into her just now. Why was Reborn in this place?!

"Y-you're already back?!" Tsuna shouted.

"We're home, Tsuna-nii." Fuuta greeted warmly.

Lissa looked at Reborn, then to Tsuna, then back to Reborn. What was happening? How are those two related to each other? Why does Tsuna know Reborn?

"I'm doomed!" Lissa slightly heard Tsuna's hysterics since she was so occupied by her own questions. She was staring at Reborn in a perplexed way.

Reborn had a cheeky smirk. He stared directly at her eyes, passing her a mental message.

Lissa understood the message easily so she went along with what Reborn was planning.

"Ciaosu! I am Sawada Tsunayoshi's home tutor. Pleased to meet you." Reborn greeted.

Lissa smiled at him. "You're so cute! I bet you're very intelligent to be Tsunayoshi-kun's tutor in such a young age." She acted out.

"This is what I didn't want to happen." Tsuna said and cried inwardly.

* * *

It was already 8pm and it was time for Lissa to go back home then this happened…

"Don't go! Don't leave Lambo-san yet!" The cow baby was clinging at her leg as if his life depended on it.

"Lambo! Stop doing that to Lissa-sensei!" I-Pin scolded him again but of course, Lambo ignored her and continued begging for Lissa to stay.

"Th-Thank you very much for inviting me today. The food was very delicious… the best thing I've ever had in my life." Lissa said and bowed politely at Tsuna's mother.

"You're very welcome. Do come back again and I'll cook more for you!" Nana said.

Bianchi, who was now wearing eye goggles, smiled at her. "I'll make you some of my specialties too." She said.

"NO. No way. You will not make anything in Jyuudaime's house!" Hayato, who was now recovered from the sudden food poison from her sister, shouted at Bianchi.

"Oh, shut up, Hayato. I know you miss my cooking." Bianchi said as she held up her goggles for a second and stared directly at Hayato.

Hayato ran to the corner of the house and started puking again. Then Bianchi brought back the goggles to her eyes.

"It is time for me to go, thank you again." Lissa said, "Gokudera-kun… please treat your sister better." She said in spite of knowing that he would not hear her because of his vomiting phase. "Now, Lambo-chan. Lissa-sensei needs to go home because it's already dark outside. Do you want Lissa-sensei to be assaulted in the dark if I stayed here any longer? Do you want me to get kidnapped by the bad guys in the middle of the night? I'm willing to stay here but… how do I get home?"

That electrified Lambo for a while. When he regained his senses, he let go of her leg and cried. "Lambo-san doesn't want that to happen! Go home already! Hurry up!"

Lissa smiled at him. "I will come to play with you soon. So be a good kid and don't give Nana-san a hard time, okay?"

"I got it already! Just go home!" he yelled.

Lissa giggled softly, "Okay. Okay."

"Are you sure you're going to be all right, Lissa-sensei?" Tsuna asked concernedly.

Before Lissa could reply, Dino wrapped an arm around her.

"Don't worry, Tsuna. I'll take her back to her apartment safely." Dino winked and smirked at the brown-haired guy.

Lissa blushed again by feeling his arm wrapped around her shoulder. She didn't have the guts to complain because of their closeness. Shyness and nervousness took all over her body.

Dino looked at Reborn before departing. Reborn nodded at him and then he decided to set off. This is going to be a long discussion.

* * *

It was 8:30pm when Dino dropped her off in front of her apartment. Bewilderment could be clearly seen from her face as she climbed up the stairs of the apartment and make her way to her room. She took her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door numbly. She looked like a person who was finding it hard to swallow the truth. Indeed, she was having a hard time swallowing and absorbing everything that Dino had told to her while they were still inside the car. The clearest words she could comprehend for now was…

"_Your Master Verde doesn't want for you to get involved with the Mafia. He told that to Reborn before he left without a trace No matter what, don't get involved with the Mafia."_

She weakly turned the door knob and pushed the door slowly.

Mafia.

Why would she get involve with the Mafia? Why had she not known about this?

This was definitely giving her a headache. So much was going inside her mind and soon she could feel it exploding. She'd think about it more when she goes inside her apartment… she would definitely make things clear.

Lissa stepped inside her apartment normally and started to reach for the switch of the lights. But she suddenly felt a sharp object nearly touching the flesh of her hand. She halted for a moment. The light from outside her door could illuminate the object—weapon, rather, that was centimeters away from drawing blood out of her soft flesh.

It was a sword.

She felt her heart jump to her throat as she dropped the keys from her other hand. She momentarily forgot to breathe as she focused her gaze at the owner of the sword, she began trembling madly. His face was not visible since the lights were off in her room, but her eyes were slowly adapting to the darkness and she could somehow visualize a man's figure.

"Voi. Don't even think about turning the lights on or screaming, you scum." A deep voice came. "Or else… I'll slash you to pieces."

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**a/n:**

Well, that's it for chapter 8! I was able to publish this chapter since my exams were cancelled this day due to heavy rain. *Sigh* How the winds of life change so fast. When I was younger, I wanted for exams to be postponed... but now, I wanted them to be done already rather than being postponed. Oh well.

I hope you liked the chappy!

Please, review!

And I shall also review for my exams again. xD

**VOCABULARY**

**Tadaima- I'm home**

**Mou- geez**


	9. Chapter 9: Welcome to Varia or not

**a/n:  
**thank you all for the reviews!

I'm reaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllyyyy yyyyyyy happy! You don't know how much your reviews mean to me! thank you so much! TT^TT

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KHR.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Welcome to Varia… Or not**

Seriously, Lissa found it extremely hard to swallow and accept everything that was happening. Dino's words were less cruel to her compared to this. It is not a typical day for Lissa De Luca to come home and have a sword pointed at her wrist, just centimeters away from her flesh. It is not a typical day for Lissa De Luca to have someone assault her from inside her apartment when she always makes sure that her doors and windows are securely locked before she goes out for work. It is definitely not a typical day for Lissa to hear these words:

"Voi. Turn on the lights or scream, you'll see that hand on the ground in one piece."

Lissa wanted to scream, but she didn't want to see her hand on the floor.

Who was this man? How did he get inside her apartment when everything is locked securely? How was he able to step in the apartment without getting noticed by the landlord downstairs? But all her questions were answered without even asking the man about it.

He has a sword.

"Step inside and lock the door." He commanded.

Without any hesitations, she did what she was told. She nervously closed the door behind her and went inside her room. She momentarily felt relieved when the sword was drawn away from her hand, but that ended when it shifted to her neck. It was dark inside her room, but her bracelet was sending off green glows, good enough for her to locate where the man is.

"Wh-who are you? H-How did you get in here? W-what do y-you want?" She tried to act brave, but fear definitely was more obvious than braveness.

He didn't answer her. Instead, he looked at her glowing bracelet. "What's that?"

"Th-This? I-It's just a… glow in the dark bracelet. Not h-harmful…" Lissa replied.

"Hn. As long as it won't call anyone from the Vongola or that Arcobaleno's minions, you won't see your blood." The man said coldly. He then brought back sword to his side and he reached out for his phone in his pocket.

Lissa's tension slightly loosened. She wouldn't see her blood for now. But, who was this man? What does he need from her? If he wanted her dead, then he would have already cut her head off and throw her body somewhere that no one will ever find. But, he was just threatening her… that means, he needs something from her. Whatever that may be, she wouldn't think twice on giving that in exchange of her pure life! Well, except if the man is from some organization that would want her skills to work under them. She would bravely put on a fight to protect her hidden talent even if she knew that she doesn't stand a chance against him.

The mysterious man was in silence for the moment. But she could feel his eyes glaring at her and watching her if ever she'd try to do something foolish. She slowly began lifting her left hand up, where the bracelet encircled her wrist. Ever so slowly until the light could illuminate the man's face. He was tall, a six-footer, she presumed. Just as she thought, his eyes were focused at her. Narrow eyes underneath straight strands… they looked so deadly and dangerous. Cold and cruel… Eyes of a heartless person… but she could feel hidden emotions behind those eyes.

"Voi. What are you looking at?" the man growled.

Lissa jumped from her spot, definitely surprised by suddenly hearing his voice. Since it was very dark, she wasn't able to see her keys underneath her foot, so that resulted for her accidentally stepping on it and losing her balance. During the process of the gravity pulling her down, she also accidentally hit the switch of the lights in her room, turning them on. And then she fell on the floor with her butt.

She whined in pain for a second, and then the first thing she had noticed was the man's arm. Her eyes widened as widely as it could. The man's left arm... was a sword. And then, touring her gaze to the upper part of his body, she had seen long silver hair.

Silver hair… she had seen that before. She knew she had seen that before! The man from her dream and the guy who saved her when she was still young? She tried to picture the boy's face and the man in her dream… Once she tried to remember, she couldn't clearly see his face. It seemed like it was… erased.

"_Eh? Why… why couldn't I remember anything from that time?"_

"Bitch! I told you to keep the lights out!" the silver-haired man shouted and then a bullet suddenly came bursting through the window, heading towards Lissa's direction. Just in time, the mysterious man sliced the bullet into two with his sword and saved her life.

Lissa was too stunned to move.

"Such a pain in the ass." The man cursed. "Voi. Stand up."

Lissa was still frozen on her spot. Still frightened of her near death.

"Shit." The man forcefully hauled the pathetic doctor up, "Whether you like it or not, you're coming with me."

"Oh… Wait. WHAT?!" She was shot back to her senses.

"Just shut up and come with me." He said and dragged her.

Lissa restrained, of course. She wouldn't just go out with a man she had never seen before! But she wasn't strong enough to get away from his grasp.

"Let me go! I'll scream! I'll call for help and have the police arrest you for trespassing in my apartment!" She then reached for her cell phone to call for help, but in a blink of an eye, her phone shattered into pieces on the floor and few strands of her curly hair was cut.

Well, he just sliced her phone.

"H-hey! What have you done?! Why did you do that?!" Lissa yelled at him.

"Just shut the fuck up, bitch! Both of our lives are at stake here! So if you don't want to die, you have to come with me, damn it!" the swordsman flung her body on his right shoulder and carried her out of her room.

"Oh my! Put me down! You have no rights to do this to me!" Lissa struggled, and her complaints were stopped when there was another bullet.

"If you want to live, then shut your mouth. I'm trying to save your life." He threatened her.

Lissa was silenced. Seriously, what was happening?! Who was this man? Why are there bullets? Why are they in danger?!

The man walked towards the window with the doctor on his right shoulder. Without any words, he jumped out of the window, towards the roof of the neighborhood.

"K-kyaaaa! Wait! This is absurd! We're both going to get killed with this!" Lissa covered her eyes as she saw how high they were from the ground.

The man ignored her as he continued leaping from roof to roof.

"Follow them! You must not let that man escape! Kill anyone who gets in the way!" Lissa heard voices from below. When she popped open one eye, she saw a black car from the ground chasing after them.

"Who-who are those people?! Why are they following you?! Why am I also involved with this? And… on top of all, who are you?!"

"Tsk. So many questions. How many times do I have to tell you to shut the hell up?!"

_Bang!_

A bullet was fired towards them, but the silver-haired man predicted its occurrence so he was able to dodge it before it could even reach them.

Lissa shut her eyes tightly. "Fine, fine! I'll shut up. But you better have a good explanation about this once this is finished. You are driving me crazy!"

Their bumpy ride continued and got even worse until they reached a dilapidated building. The silver-haired guy ungentlemanly put Lissa down and pushed her towards a secured area, where tall sacks of unused cements stood as her wall.

"Don't come out until I tell you. And, cover your eyes if necessary." The man said and then left her.

"Hey, wait! What are you—"

Before Lissa could ask, three black cars appeared and black-suited men came out holding guns.

"Freeze, Superbi Squalo! Surrender now!"

Six men got him trapped in a circle, each of them pointing gun at Squalo's head.

Lissa covered her mouth, eyes wide from the scene she was witnessing. _"Oh no… how is he going to fight them? He has no chance! He is outnumbered!"_

"Scum! Who the hell do you think I am to surrender to shits like you?! I am Squalo Superbi, you son of bitches! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Squalo was in a stance of swinging his sword towards one man, the other five fired their gun at him, but in a flash, he was able to dodge all the bullets and put an end to his first prey of the night's life.

Blood was drawn out and painted his sharp sword. When he was done with his first victim, he didn't waste a second for going with his next prey.

"AAAAAARGH! WAAAAGHHH!"

Screams filled all over the dilapidated building. Squalo was continuing his kill.

"LOW LIVES! SHITS! GOING UP AGAINST ME IS YOUR SURE DEATH!"

Lissa witnessed everything. This man called "Squalo" was definitely not an ordinary man. He was brutal… violent. Those poor men who were chasing after them and shooting bullets after them were now at the verge of their death. Lissa was a doctor… enemies or not, she treated anyone in the world equally as her patients.

Even if her knees were wobbling, she mustered her strength to her legs and ran towards the cruel scene.

"STOP THIS!"

Lissa bravely stood in front of the man and shielded the nearly dying guys.

Squalo pulled his sword away to avoid injuring her or anything. "I told you not to come out unless I told you!"

"I can't stand this! You cannot continue doing this!" Lissa yelled back, "These guys, they don't deserve to die in a very brutal way! Even if they had the motive to kill us earlier, we shouldn't do the same to them!"

"Stay out of this. This is my job, not yours." Squalo hissed, "Get out of the way and let me finish my mission, damn it!"

"My job or not, I am still involved! YOU got me involved into this situation, and I am a DOCTOR. Seeing those who are in pain and in the verge of dying are my patients! No matter who they are or where they came from, helping those who are in need is my JOB!" Lissa exclaimed firmly.

Squalo was about to yell back, but his phone rang abruptly. "Tsk, What is it?!" he answered in a pissed off manner.

Lissa was taking deep breaths. She had used most of her courage to shout those words to him, to a person whose sword is attached to his left hand. She couldn't believe that she had such guts.

"I got it already! The damned doctor is with me. I just need to settle things with the other mafia, I'll be back in an hour."

Lissa was on her way to give her aid to the wounded men, but hearing "that" word got her frozen in her spot.

Yes… she had heard it right. He said "Mafia".

"_No matter what, don't get involved with the Mafia." _

Dino's voice echoed in her mind.

These wounded men on the ground were Mafia. This Squalo guy might also be a Mafia.

Pure coincidence, isn't it?

But, she shouldn't think of that now. What's important is, she must help these men.

"Stop what you are doing, weakling. Just do what I told you to do so. I want to end this already." Squalo said.

"No. You are not going to kill them!" Lissa opposed and stood to glare directly at his narrow eyes.

He was tall, indeed. He was a six-footer… and Lissa only stood 5'3''. Plus… do not forget that he has a sword.

"Why do you do this? What are you exactly? This is definitely inhumane!"

"Step aside. I have to finish my mission." Squalo said.

"No. You are not going to lay a finger on them anymore." Lissa said.

"VOI! YOU'RE WASTING MY TIME, MOVE ASIDE!" He shouted and pointed the sharp edge of the sword under her chin.

Lissa remained undeterred. Brave black eyes did not blink and turned away from silver ones.

"I am not going to move aside even if it kills me."

Squalo's eyes twitched. He so wanted to strangle her right now… If not for Xanxus's order not to lay a finger on her, he would have sliced her leg off her thigh. Well, he was ordered to bring her back alive, losing one leg wouldn't kill her, right?

"Troublesome. Why do we need someone like you, fuck!" He cursed under his breath and swiftly transported behind her. As he landed on the ground, Lissa lost consciousness and the lives of the enemies came to an end. He caught the female doctor before she fell on the ground, and lifted her up to his right shoulder, carrying her like a sack again.

"But, you are interesting. Melissa." Squalo said in a low voice and then left the dilapidated venue.

* * *

_Lissa felt her body floating in an unknown place. Her hair was untied and she was naked. When she opened her eyes, all that she could see was such brightness… but she could visualize a figure of a person. A woman, descending from above. _

"_Melissa… We are going to meet very soon. I can hardly wait."_

_Lissa heard a very sweet and calm voice. Was she in… heaven? Was the woman her angel?_

_When she tried extending her hand up to reach for the angel, she suddenly felt her whole body being swallowed by a Vacuum under her. _

"_Wait! What is happening!?" _

"_Fear not, my dear. It is not yet time for you to know who I am. But… I shall wait and you shall wait. Farewell for now." _

_And then the brightness disappeared, and Lissa felt herself falling towards a pit._

* * *

*TUG*

"Ouch!"

Lissa De Luca, age nineteen, had apparently fell down from a very gigantic bed and landed lamely with her butt.

When she was able to go back to her senses, she tried hovering herself up from the floor. She was wearing a white bathrobe without her undergarments, and her hair was all down. She had nothing of her own items, except for her lucky charm.

"Oh my God! W-Where am I?!" Lissa exclaimed. And then it all came back to her… about what happened last night. In her apartment, a silver-haired man, bullets, lifting her like a sack, leaping from roof to roof, the dilapidated building, the bloody battle, their argument and then pass out. She wakes up only wearing a bathrobe.

"Oh no… don't tell me… we…" She frighteningly covered her chest area and gulped hard.

"Oh, you're awake."

"Kya! Don't come near me!" Lissa quickly hid under the bed sheets and went to the other edge of the bed. Much to her surprise, it was just a floating baby.

A floating baby… WHAT?!

"Who-who are you?! Where am I?! And where is that man? What did he do to me?! Don't tell me… you're already our baby?!" Lissa panicked.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. Don't worry, Squalo didn't take advantage of you. Nothing happened last night." Mammon explained.

"N-Nothing happened?" Lissa blinked, "Then, why am I only wearing this bathrobe? Where are my undergarments?"

"Squalo just brought you here, and I'm the one who took care of your clothes. We analyzed them if there were any tracking devices from Reborn and the leader of the Chiavarone family. It seemed there aren't any, but all we could not get from you was that bracelet." Mammon replied, "But it looks harmless. Verde probably did something to the bracelet to not get off you."

Lissa wrapped her hand protectively around her lucky charm, "You cannot get this. This is my lucky charm!"

"Muu. Worry not, we have no interest with your accessory. The only thing we need is your skill." The Mist Arcobaleno said.

Lissa gave the baby a shocked look, "My skills? But… how do you know about that?"

Mammon remained silent and flew towards a huge white cabinet. He opened it and took formal clothes out without even using his hands. He traveled it towards Lissa and commanded her to wear it.

"You shall meet our boss for your further questions. I will wait for you outside. Come out when you're done changing." The baby said and then left the room.

"Wait!" and then the door was shut. She took a look at the formal clothes given to her. It was almost the same of her usual attire. Formal white blouse, fit black knee-length skirt, and black stockings. The only different one was the coat. Instead of a white doctor's robe, she was given a black one with a rare badge on it. Lissa had never seen that logo before… and it said, "VARIA".

Lissa frowned, "Varia? What's with the name? I have never heard of this group before."

She had too many questions to be asked. The baby said that if she just changed her clothes, he would lead her to where the boss is. So, without wasting any more time, she got to her feet and began wearing the clothes, given the undergarments also.

* * *

After a minute or so, she was done changing. Before she called for the baby, she first used a comb she saw near the mirror and brushed her wavy hair. It has been a while since she wore a doctor uniform with her hair down to her elbows… it was a rare image of her. When she was all done, she knocked at the door and called for the floating baby.

Without waiting for any signals, Mammon began leading her the way towards the boss's office.

Lissa was quietly following him… insecure of the new place. Was this a mansion or something? It was so big and classy.

As they walked along the never-ending hallway, Lissa decided to start a conversation.

"Excuse me… May I ask, are you also an Arcobaleno? I believe I have seen you somewhere a long time ago. And… I heard you mention my master's name." Lissa asked politely, trying to hide the fact that she was dying to ask the baby that question several minutes ago upon hearing him state Verde's name.

"You are quite informed of the Arcobaleno. I thought you knew nothing." Mammon said.

"Please, answer my question. Am I right? Are you also an Arcobaleno like my master Verde?"

Mammon glanced at her for a second and then refocused his attention ahead. "You're correct. I am an Arcobaleno, the holder of the Mist Pacifier. And I am also acquaintances with Verde."

Lissa doubled her speed to get beside him. "Then, do you know where my master is?! Can you help me find him?"

"Muu. I have no intention of looking for him or helping you unless you are already useful to our organization. " Mammon answered.

"Organization? You mean… this "Varia" is an organization? What kind of?"

Mammon had stopped moving in front of a gigantic door. "Here we are. Be sure not to be rude in front of the boss if you don't want to get eaten alive." He warned before he opened the door.

"Wait… what?" Lissa blinked confusedly. Seriously, what did she get herself into?

The door was finally opened and Mammon came in first before her. Lissa was left thinking twice whether she would enter or not. Give her reasons why she would not get in there. First, she didn't want to be eaten alive. Second, she didn't want to get hurt. Third, she didn't want to die. But, she also has reasons of why she needed to get inside. First, to know where she was. Second, to know why she was dragged here. Third, to know what kind of organization is this. Fourth, to know who exactly that Squalo Superbi guy. Fifth, to know how they discovered her hidden ability.

It wasn't balanced. She has more reasons to get inside the hell room than to get away. Why does it have to be that way?

And so, even if it was against her will, she stepped inside the room.

She was hesitant… so she stopped after taking three steps from the threshold. The door was shut behind her, and there was no turning back. She could feel the very intense atmosphere in the room… She so wanted to get out for she felt all of them had the motive to kill her.

There were seven people inside the office. A man with black spiky hair and has a buzz cut on the side was seated in the middle behind a large working table. Large scars on his face were most recognizable along with feathers and a raccoon tail at the nape of his neck, coming over his left shoulder to be visible from the front. He was glaring at her with glinting eyes. And it gave shivers down to her spine. Three people on each of his sides stood, also glaring at her. Starting from the left side, there was a giant creature with having no signs of being human at all. He was a robot, she supposed. Next to the robot was the Arcobaleno who accompanied her, and next to the baby was a blond-haired guy whose eyes were not even visible from his bangs. He wore a weird tiara on his head. A prince? And then on the right side stood a muscular man with brown and green hair wearing a black coat with red fur on the hood. Beside him was the silver-haired swordsman who was the culprit and was the cause of all, and right next to Squalo was a not so handsome guy with spiky pointy hair and has round earrings attached to his left eyebrow.

Weird-looking people.

"Done with your observation, doc?" the one on the chair spoke.

Lissa jumped in surprise as she suddenly heard a deep husky voice.

"Come forth. I want you nearer." The boss commanded.

Lissa felt so little, she was definitely chickening out. She hesitantly took a step forward, then followed by another, and then another one until she was in the middle of the room.

"Indeed, you have beauty… brains, skills and courage. I can feel something mysterious flowing inside your body. I hate to admit it, but Mammon is correct. You have so many mysteries in you and you shall not be underestimated," He said, "However, are those skills enough to be the medical doctor of our squad? Do not think that I'm going to go easy on you because you're a woman, Lissa De Luca. One clumsy mistake, I can kill you without breaking a sweat. Also—"

"W-wait a minute, sir!" Lissa couldn't take it. Everything was going off hook.

"You! Do not speak while Boss Xanxus is talking!" the man with the round earrings on the eyebrows shouted. He was about to continue yelling at her when Xanxus suddenly raised a hand, signaling for him to stop. And he did so, without arguing.

Lissa was given the opportunity to express herself. She took a deep breath before she let it all out. "Listen, I have no intention of being a member of any organizations. I believe I haven't approved on working under you, Xanxus-dono, so you have no rights to command me and threaten my life for making a mistake with the task you are going to give me. I am just an ordinary doctor. I just happen to be a tourist who is looking for her mentor. Getting involve with such organizations is not in my list. If you have the mission to recruit me as your medical doctor, then forget about it. I am not interested in joining. If my decision is what you want, then I have given it. So, if you would please let me go home, I still have work to do in school." She said in one shot.

The whole room was in a state of silence. Round ebony eyes directly glared at sharp red orbs. A smirk abruptly formed on the edge of Xanxus's lips.

"Welcome to Varia." He said.

Lissa looked dumbfounded. "Wait a second, I declined the offer here, sir. I said that I have no intention of joining. So, what in the world are you saying to me?"

"What if I say, whether you like it or not, you are the medical doctor of Varia Assassination Squad. You cannot do anything about it because I have decided to take you in." Xanxus stated.

"A-assassination squad?! Look, there is no way that I am going to join this! You just made my desire in getting out of this mansion stronger." Lissa said. She was shouting, but she was still calm. Oh, her special ability not to look mad even though she was starting to get mad.

"You cannot do anything about it. Starting from this day, right at this very moment, you are a member of the Varia." Xanxus said.

"But why me? Why do you have to pick someone like me? There are still so many doctors out there… more skilled than I am." Lissa objected.

"Shishishi. I'm sorry but, we have not seen a doctor like you before. You see, Mammon and I were present at that time when you helped the boss of the Chiavarone Famiglia who got hit by the car badly. We were able to witness what you have done to save him." Belphegor said.

Mammon agreed, "Those extraordinary pills… we cannot lose the opportunity to have our hands on them."

"You mean… both of you weren't also affected by the time-freeze device?"

"That's right. I believe that time-freeze device is made by Verde. We have it along with your other things that are being tested." Mammon replied.

"Give my things back to me." Lissa said.

"Do not worry, they're all in your laboratory." Belphegor said.

"My Laboratory? Please, how many times do I have to tell you that I will not join this Assassin Squad? That's my final decision and I'm not changing it." Lissa bowed respectfully at them before turning around.

She walked across the room towards the exit, when she was about to reach for the door knob, a sharp sword came pass through her right cheek nearly cutting her, and it got perfectly attached to the door. Lissa stood frozen as she felt a taller figure behind her, trapping her between him and the door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, troublesome doctor?" He growled at her ear.

Lissa gulped hard. "I-I am going home, isn't that clear?"

"Who said you're allowed to go home?" Squalo said.

"And who said that I approved to become a member of this squad? Who said that I wanted to stay here?" Lissa hit back.

Squalo gained a huge vein on his head. "The hell! After all I've been through because of you last night, do you think I'm going to let you off the hook easily? Be proud for being recruited by the Varia! There are thousands of applicants out there who want to work for us, you're lucky to be automatically approved by us!"

"I said I don't want to. I can decline, right?" Lissa complained.

"Unfortunately, you cannot decline. Your decision is not important here, the one that's important is mine." Xanxus interrupted, "As I said earlier, whether you like it or not, you are going to be the medical doctor of Varia." He stood up from his seat.

Both Squalo and Lissa turned towards Xanxus, Squalo's sword was still attached to the door to prevent Lissa from unexpectedly escaping.

"The Varia will benefit from you. Especially in battles. Having those pills with us will help us get stronger in battles and develop our strengths. If you are thinking that the organization will only benefit from you, then you're wrong. You are going to gain something, too." Xanxus said.

"Money? You're going to offer me lots of money to work my whole body and soul? Sorry, I'm not a materialistic person, you can never bribe me." Lissa replied.

"Yes, money. That's one of the benefits. But there is something more important than that." Xanxus said.

Lissa had a confused look.

"This money-obsessed arcobaleno here knows your master Verde. Staying in the Varia will help you find the mad scientist."

Xanxus's words stunned Lissa right on her spot. Her eyes wide and heart accelerating. This was it. She was definitely waiting for someone to say those words to her… that someone can help her find Verde.

This was the moment she was waiting for!

Eyes were all focused towards her, waiting for her reaction. She turned her gaze towards the floating baby, asking if that was really true.

"I have known Verde as well as you. You were still a young child back then when we first saw each other so you do not remember me. But, I was able to remember you after sometime. When you felt like you were being watched twenty-four hours a day, then that was me. I've been observing and guarding you until Squalo came to take you here. My name is Mammon." The Mist Arcobaleno stated.

So there were people who discovered her identity after all without her knowing. She was too careless, indeed. But there was no time to blame herself for not being careful enough, she cannot do anything about it anymore. All of this is happening. She just had to face the consequences of her mistakes… but saving Dino was not considered a mistake, right? She just did the right thing back then when he was at the verge of dying.

She was not at fault. All she did was help those in need. She just did her job as a doctor.

Maybe… meeting Dino, seeing Reborn again, and being discovered by Mammon and the blond-haired man were signs of what they call… "FATE".

Lissa had always believed in fate and destiny. She always believed that everything has a reason in this world. Even as a child, she had always had that way of thinking. Maybe there was a reason why her parents died, maybe there was a reason why she was saved by a mysterious boy in the woods, maybe there was a reason why her Master Verde suddenly left without saying anything about his journey, maybe there was a reason why Dino told her not to get involved with the Mafia, and… maybe there was a reason why she met the Varia.

It took her a minute or two to be able to respond. She was thinking deeply… of what would happen to her in the future if she joined this organization. But, as she had always thought and said, she was not afraid of dying.

When she had made up her mind, she calmly stared at Xanxus.

"I am willing to work for the Varia, Xanxus-dono."

Xanxus sat back on his chair and reclined. "Whether you're willing or not, you are still going to work under us."

Lissa bowed, "I'm looking forward to work with you. Please, help me find my Master."

"_I'm very sorry, Master Reborn… Dino-san."_

Xanxus made an upward movement of his head, reverse of a nod.

Squalo retrieved his sword from the door. He stared at the doctor, and inwardly smirked.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**a/n:**

There you have it. THE VARIA! xD please, review~! thanks!


	10. Chapter 10: Getting Along

**a/n:**

I am very sorry for the LOOOOOONG wait. I've been busy with my other story so... I really apologize for not being able to update more frequently.

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KHR.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Getting Along**

Lissa De Luca, age nineteen, standing 5'3'', blood type A, zodiac sign pisces, and social status single, was now officially a member of an elite assassin squad called "Varia".

The calm, peace-loving and anti-violence doctor… was working under an assassin squad.

It was too hard to swallow, but Lissa had already made up her mind and accepted everything.

"By the way, I've sent the resignation letter to your school. You won't be working there anymore and starting this day, you will live here." Xanxus said.

Lissa shot her head up in a lightning speed and gave Xanxus a perplexed look. "What? But, I've just worked there for two weeks. That would be too rude for the principal." She said.

"I don't care about those shitty fools. You belong to Varia now. You cannot work there while you also work here. Besides, losing your job in that school won't affect you much since Varia can give you a more credits than them." Xanxus replied.

"That's not what I'm after. It affects me. I've grown fond of the students there and they still need someone to take care of them if they feel sick or if they get injured. What if there isn't any available replacement for my position? What would happen to the students in school? They wouldn't know what to do if I, the doctor, isn't there. Oh, how dreadful by just imagining the consequences." Lissa said melodramatically.

Xanxus's brows twitched. Didn't he say that he doesn't care about those trashes?

"Hey! I've had enough of keeping myself quiet, woman! Boss Xanxus is the head here. You have no rights to complain with his decisions! And you have no rights to interfere while he is talking! You are very rude!" Levi shouted at her.

"I'm sorry, I believe I wasn't talking to you." Lissa replied calmly. "Since you interfered with my discussion with the boss, I should not ignore you because that would be too rude, am I right? Speaking of my rights… I have all my rights to defend what is mine. You were the ones who needed me here in the first place; I wasn't the one who applied in this organization. You were the ones who got into my life. You were the ones who just came out of the blue and started to decide things for me." She said firmly, "But, let me clear one thing. I did agree to willingly serve the organization. But… my life is still my life. I am not a puppet that you can control with everything you need for me to do. Plus, what is wrong with defending my own life? If you were in trouble, you'd do anything to protect those important to you, right? Let's say that this situation for me is the same as that situation."

Levi gritted his teeth for he didn't know what to say.

"Shishishishi. Cat got your tongue, Levi?" Belphegor teased.

"Shut the hell up!" Levi said to the prince and then glared at the female doctor menacingly.

A chuckle suddenly came from Xanxus. "You intrigue me so much, bitchy doctor. I can sense that I will not regret recruiting someone like you. But first, you have to know the rules. In this organization, I'm the boss, the head of all. Second, I make the best of the best decision for the organization. I don't let any tiny detail infect the standing of the squad. Third, you obey what I command. I'm the master; you're the slave. Those are the most important rules here, once you disobey, punishment awaits."

Lissa took note of that in her mind.

"About the resigna—"

"Tonight." Xanxus raised his voice to cut her statement, "You shall be ready for a banquet. You will be joining me in a special occasion, do not be late."

"Oh sure, a banquet." Lissa nodded and then after a few seconds, "A banquet?" her eyes widened. "But I—"

"Oh, come on! Stop complaining, dear! Feel happy because boss chose you to be his date! Oh, I can feel the bloom of romance~" Lussuria began dancing in a strange way, "After the banquet, boss and dear doctor would be alone… they would stop by a hotel and then get a room… oh~ and then in that dark room, they will start taking off their clo—"

"Shut your fucking mouth or I'll cut your head off." "Shut your fucking mouth or I'll blow your head off."

Squalo and Xanxus threateningly said in unison and aimed their own weapons at the freaky transvestite.

While Lissa… had her cheeks heating up to the highest point of her blushing meter.

Lussuria backed away and hid behind Gola Mosca. "I was just joking! Easy, boys… Easy!" he laughed nervously.

Squalo and Xanxus gave Lussuria one last death glare before drawing back their weapons.

"You are all dismissed except for Mammon and Squalo. Hey, bratty prince, lead her to the lab and her room. Make sure that she'll get ready for the banquet." The Varia boss commanded.

Lissa's face was still red. In fact, she was lost in her own world again.

Gola Mosca, Levi, Lussuria went ahead but Lissa was not moving an inch. Bel was waiting for her to make signs of movements, unfortunately, there was none.

"VOI! Snap out of it!" Squalo yelled at her. "The Boss will not do that to someone like you. Who would ever do? You're short! You're a nerd! You won't satisfy men with that chest!"

Squalo's insults somehow made Lissa return to her senses. Once his words struck into her throat down to her chest, she glared angrily at the shark.

"Watch your words, Squalo-san. You are not in the position to judge someone just because of the appearance. And… I know that someday… I'll have someone love me for the way I am!" Lissa yelled back and then dashed out of the room. Bel effortlessly followed her and reminded her that she was not going in the right way.

Squalo, Xanxus and Mammon were left inside the Boss office staring at the dashing Bel and Lissa.

"Che. Foolish Doctor." Squalo scoffed.

"But, she's really unpredictable and amusing. I never knew that she has that innocent heart and mind." Mammon said, "And what's more unpredictable was… she was able to get you two raise your weapons in Lussuria's silly joke. She was the only one who struck a nerve in both of you." Mammon said.

"Don't you start putting any meaning on that. Place that aside, we have a more important topic to discuss." Xanxus said and seriously looked at Squalo and Mammon.

* * *

"I'm so going to make him eat his words. Doesn't he know what he says can hurt a person's feelings? Just because I'm a doctor, it doesn't mean I don't believe in love, fate and destiny." Lissa complained as she crossed her arms on her chest.

Belphegor remained uninterested with her rambles. "Here we are. Your laboratory." He said as he stood in front of the technical door to activate it to open.

Lissa followed him inside. When she entered, her eyes widened in amusement. Well, the laboratory was enormous. Complete with equipment she needed in work. Originally, she wasn't a doctor at all. She was a Biologist; staying in Laboratories was her forte. Somehow, she felt a little happy with her decision of choosing to work under the Varia. She just hoped that she could stay in this Lab all the time to avoid seeing Squalo and Xanxus. She hoped that was possible… but apparently, it's not. Because few hours from now, she would spend the rest of her night with Xanxus.

"This is where you will work, shishishi. It is best for us to be always supplied with those rare pills of yours. Having you in combat will benefit us very much." Belphegor said.

Lissa turned to look at him, "Ummm… may I ask what is your name?"

"Belphegor. I'm a prince. But I'm used with being called Bel." He replied, "Shishishi. I specialize knives." He added and took one silver knife from his pocket.

"See this? Very sharp… one smooth caress can make a skin tear apart." He hissed.

Lissa gulped. "Very… amusing." She gave him a false smile. "You're a prince? Wow… that's incredible. No wonder you have that tiara on your head. It's a pleasure to meet you, Bel-kun."

"Hn. I wonder if it really is a pleasure to know us. I could hardly believe that you chose to join an assassin squad than to go back to your peaceful work in that school. I really thought that you'd complain to the boss over and over until he gets tired and disposes you. Well, whether you like it or not, you will really work under us." Bel shrugged and turned his back on her, "The truth is, your only option in this squad was; to follow boss's order to be able to live your dear life or continue opposing and face your death. Of course, boss and neither of us wanted to go for the latter. Maybe if you continued opposing, we'll just lock you up somewhere and have someone torture you."

Lissa sweatdropped. "I-Is that so?"

"Make sure you remember every corner of our base. I don't want to show you around again. I'm not that kind to waste my precious time on you." He then walked out of the Laboratory, beginning to show her the way to their next destination.

After going to the Library, training room, gallery, dining hall, guest room and security system, their last destination was her room. It took them an hour or two on touring around the Varia base and she was informed that this mansion was just a branch of their organization. The headquarters was located at Italy… what are the odds? Her home country was also Italy so even if she tried to escape in this squad in the future, she cannot go to Italy to hide. Plan A was destroyed.

"It's already 5pm. You should get ready, this maid will help you and will ensure that you will get ready for the banquet for tonight. Don't think about opposing the boss… you'll regret it. Shishishi." Prince the Reaper walked out of Lissa's room and entrusted everything to the maid. He shut the door and assigned a guard to keep watch outside.

Lissa sighed. "Why won't anyone listen to me just even once?"

"Lissa-sama, we shall begin. The boss wants you to be ready before 7pm for you are to be leaving afterwards." The maid said.

Lissa looked at the young maid, "As if I have a chance against them… all right. _Yoroshiku ne_." she smiled at her. "Um… your name is?"

"Oh! I am Suzu… it's a pleasure to meet you, milady." The girl replied.

"May I know what your age is?"

"I just turned sixteen, milady."

"Oh, three years younger than I am. So young… yet you are already working. At your age, I was still studying about biology and making pills. I can sense that you are a good child, I look forward being with you." Lissa said.

"The pleasure is all mine, Lissa-sama." Suzu bowed. "I have prepared your bath. We shall start now and we wouldn't want you getting late for later."

"All right… I shall brace myself for a war."

* * *

Two hours have passed… Lissa was finished taking a bubble bath, relaxing her body, doing facial, applying her make-up and wearing her dress. It was the very first time she had experienced a beauty treatment to her body. And all her life she didn't think of experiencing it.

Because… ever since she was a child… she hated going to parties.

As far as she could remember, she never accepted any of her father's invites to a ball, party or banquet. There wasn't a chance when he succeeded in taking her to a celebration.

Yes. This was the very first time she would attend one.

And this means WAR.

On top of all, she was required to wear 5-inch high heels.

She was as stiff as statue as she was being assisted by Suzu to where she had to meet Xanxus. Worse, she had to go down the staircase. She wore a fit long-sleeved black dress which had the logo of Varia and her hair was all down, waving behind her back gracefully.

"You may leave now, Suzu. Go back to your other duties." Xanxus suddenly commanded which definitely distracted Lissa.

Lissa gave Suzu a puppy-eye look, begging the maid not to leave her behind for she had told her that she was not good in wearing high heeled shoes. But, Suzu could do nothing but obey the boss's orders, even if it was against her will to leave the doctor behind, she had to.

Xanxus was leaning against a huge pillar with his arms crossed, while Squalo was standing casually by the door. Both of them were staring at her in an unclear manner. Both had apathetic eyes, but they seemed to have a hard time on shifting away their gaze from the descending creature at the staircase.

Lissa never paid attention to their stares. She hadn't even noticed it. She concentrated more on every step she was taking down the stairs, slowly and surely settling her foot on each step, perfectly balancing herself from the unusual highness of her heels for one wrong move, her head might hit the floor and she could die. She had a feeling… a very strong feeling that Xanxus was torturing her. No one has to be a genius to notice that her weakness was wearing high-heeled shoes. Anyone who saw her the first time can definitely conclude that she was not skilled to use that kind of sandals.

Unfortunately, fate was not controlled by her own hands. Sometimes, things that we do not want to happen suddenly happen. Things do not go always according to plans and how we want for it to happen.

She slipped.

Everything in her mind stopped as she felt the gravity slowly pulling her down towards the concrete floor. No, she couldn't find a way to save herself. There was no way to defy gravity… and she was going to fall from a sort of high place. The only thing that was going on in her brain was her future… She would fall, hit her head on the stairs, and roll her way down to the ground. There was a high possibility of dying.

_Good bye, cruel world. _She thought as she shut her eyes tightly.

She waited for the impact to come and the blood to flow out of her head.

But… it never came. That confused her so much.

Was dying this painless? Accidentally biting your tongue was more painful than this. Or… did she already enter the gates of heaven that's why she felt nothing?

Lissa slowly opened her eyes to have her first glimpse of heaven… Were angels waiting for her? Was it the right time to see her parents? But what about Master Verde? And the Varia! Were they able to give her a gravestone? She hoped they were able to…

"Shit! You're so troublesome!"

Wait, was this heaven?! What's happening? Why was she hearing that voice? Or… maybe this was hell?

When Lissa was able to clear her vision, she saw pair of frustrated silver eyes glaring down at her. Yup. She was not in heaven. She was in the arms of Squalo Superbi, who apparently saved her from meeting her doom.

"S-Squalo-dono…"

She felt her cheeks heat up from their closeness… and she didn't know why she couldn't have the power to take away her gaze from his eyes. She could feel his tight hold on her waist, preventing her to fall down and securing her between his arms.

His touch… it felt so familiar.

Both of them stayed in that position for a moment, suddenly getting lost in their own worlds.

Xanxus looked up at them. Clearly seeing them enjoying such a moment. He abruptly about-faced and took his steps down the stairs and made his way to the front door. He never knew that the second-in-command could move faster than him at times. He had never thought that Squalo would risk an effort to catch her all the way. Look, who's talking. The Varia boss also bothered to save her from that lame fall; Squalo just got there faster than he did.

Why did he even bother to save her? He could just let her fall and hurt herself. He couldn't believe he invited such a person in the squad. For some reason, he didn't know why he suddenly felt irritated. To unleash his frustration, he kicked-open the front door and knew that it distracted the two.

"We're leaving, hurry up you bastards." Xanxus said coldly, "Change those shoes of yours. It's a pain in the eye."

Then the Varia boss left.

* * *

_Click. Clunk. Shick. _

For twenty minutes, that's what Lissa was hearing. Because right beside her inside a limousine, the Varia boss was seated. They were alone since Squalo was seated in the front seat along with the driver and some sort of a divider separated them from the main room of the limousine. It also means that Lissa and Xanxus are not seen by the driver and the second-in-command.

That made Lissa feel more intense. She hoped that she could be the one sitting beside the driver. She didn't mind at all! She wouldn't complain wherever she would be placed as long as she was not alone with either Xanxus or Squalo. Instead of enjoying her first time ride inside a limousine, the feeling of being frightened towered more.

Guns… Xanxus was cleaning his guns.

_Click. Clunk._

In every sound the gun produced upon being cleaned, Lissa pushed herself away from Xanxus. Apparently, she's already in the edge of the seat having the great opportunity to open the door and jump out of the car if she wanted to. But, of course, she couldn't do that. She didn't want to die yet. If she stayed quiet and remained a good girl, those guns wouldn't be used, right? She just had to be extra careful and wait until they reach their destination. But she had no plans of taking her eyes off those guns, it was too risky. It's better to be prepared than it's too late.

All of a sudden, Xanxus stopped wiping his gun. He gave her an intense side-glance, "Why the hell are you looking? Do you have a problem, wimpy woman?"

Lissa flinched from her seat and pushed herself farther from Xanxus if that was still possible. This was also why she didn't want to take her eyes off those guns. Xanxus was very pissed since they have gotten inside the limo.

"I-I-It's nothing…" she gulped hard.

"Don't you dare tell lies to me, wimp." Xanxus threatened.

For some reason, Lissa wanted to jump out of the limo. She thought that she would be safer if she had done that, but unfortunately, the doors were locked.

"I… I was just w-w-w-ondering… why you—have—those… guns with you…?"

Great. Now, she was stuttering like hell.

Xanxus was obviously irritated by her question. Seriously, she asked that to him? How dumb can she be?

"I'm an assassin. Weapons are most necessary for me." He replied. And he had no idea why he didn't blow her head off.

"I-I know that. But… even in occasions like banquets? You still have that with you? How is it so necessary?" she asked.

"Hey. Are you trying to test my patience? Are you that dumb for not being able to answer your own questions? I don't want to regret having you in the Varia squad. If you think you're that important to us that we will not kill you because of your fucking pills, then you're getting it wrong. Once you're useless, we dispose you without reconsidering. I can look for other doctors to learn your pill-making. So shut your mouth if you don't want me to lose my patience."

Next to violence… what Lissa also hated was impoliteness. Well, Xanxus was so much for being impolite. He was to the highest level number one jerk she had ever met. Next to his rank was Squalo.

"Excuse me? I just asked. Why are you so pissed?" Lissa countered. Now she didn't know why she had the urge to talk back to him all of a sudden. "I asked you that question not because I do not know the answer. I want further explanation with what I have in my head. Yes, I know why you carry a gun. It's because you have to protect yourself for being the boss of this squad. But, we're going in a banquet, not in a duel. What would other people think of you if they saw you carry a gun? Of course they would think that you can hurt them with that weapon… it would be like… we have a bad intention in the event. Instead of protecting yourself, you'd be the one who'd end up starting a commotion. I understand Squalo-dono's situation since the sword is attached at his hand, though. And he's your subordinate and he's assigned to protect you."

"You want me to leave my weapons out?" Xanxus glared daggers at her.

"I-It's to avoid trouble…"

Xanxus scoffed, "Avoid trouble? Are you really that dumb? The main reason why I have these is to defend myself from the commotion I would and would not commit. It's time for you to wake up, woman. The world is not what you think it is. The world is a cruel place… danger will be always in your tail when you're in Mafia. People are not innocent. People commit sin. People… have their own demon inside of them." He threw the handkerchief he was using to clean his guns away and clicked his weapons. "In this world, the strong lives… and the weak dies. You should keep that in mind."

"Survival of the fittest, in other words." Lissa looked down, "That's not the world I want to live in." she said and stared out of the window far far away where she would not meet Xanxus's eyes.

How dare she? How dare she turn away from him all so sudden after what all she had said? She was weird… too many mood sways. First she was fidgety and nervous, then she turned confident on talking back to him, and then she became gloomy. Indeed, women were troublesome and vague.

After some minutes, the ride came to a stop.

Lissa suddenly felt nauseated.

"Don't you give shame to Varia, wimp." Xanxus warned, "It would be your head, I'm telling you."

Lissa immediately touched her neck and nodded repeatedly at the boss. "If you wanted to make sure that I don't bring shame, why don't you bring somebody else to this banquet?" she whispered to herself.

"What did you say?" Xanxus glared at her.

Lissa flinched on her seat again, "I-I-It's nothing! I-I'll do my best to make boss proud."

"You better do." Xanxus then pushed open the door and came out. He stood outside and was offering his hand towards her.

Lissa stared at him grudgingly.

"Take it, damn it! Hurry up and get out!" He commanded. Before Lissa could move or give him her hand, the Varia Boss forcefully hauled her out of the car, and aggressively closed the door once she was out. "I'm telling you," he looked down at her, "don't you bring shame to my name." he threatened and let her go.

"I-I understand." Lissa answered.

Xanxus then turned away from her and made his way inside. He gestured her and Squalo to follow him. Lissa sighed and decided to follow his orders. As if she had another choice.

If he could just be nicer to her-If the Varia could just be nicer to her, then she wouldn't have any problems at all.

It was so damn hard to get along with them.

Lissa sighed again and walked inside, "I guess I have to bear with this. Oh, please grant me strength. This is all your fault, Master Verde." She cursed under her breath.

Squalo just stared. He felt relieved that the doctor changed her shoes. He didn't have to catch her again if she falls or trips lamely. Indeed, she was shorter than he had imagined.

When Lissa entered the mansion with Squalo right behind her, she was surprised to see formal-suited people making way for Xanxus wherever he would walk. No one dared to stand in his path or look at him in the eye. Were they paying too much respect for Xanxus or were they… scared of him?

Well, if they were scared to get near him, then there would be no troubles. Unless Xanxus would be the one to make it.

"Ah, Boss Xanxus. _Benvenuto. _I am delighted that you made it." A stout old man with a glass of wine in his hand came to greet him. "The Impetuoso family is very much honored to have you here."

The fat man kept talking to Xanxus in Italian, and as we know the Varia Boss, he seemed uninterested to every word that the Boss of Impetuoso family spoke.

"My table." Xanxus spoke that it effectively shut the man's mouth.

"Oh, certainly." The fat man immediately ordered a waiter to lead Xanxus to his table and serve him with everything they got.

Lissa and Squalo immediately came to follow when the table was set. They sat in both sides of Xanxus, making the Boss in the center, as the Boss ordered alcohol.

Lissa gave Xanxus a side glance, thinking to herself. _'Yup. He's very much feared. I just hope he won't cause trouble… moreover when Squalo-dono is with him.'_

The banquet continued; it was the very first time Lissa attended one. Rich people chatted in every corner of the place, and Lissa could hardly believe that everyone in this room were Mafias. And what made it harder for her to believe was… she was also one of them.

Then classical music came to play.

_Yawn. _

This was bad… One of Lissa's major weaknesses was classical music. She tends to get sleepy easily whenever she would hear classical music.

The waiter came back to serve them what Xanxus ordered. Lissa's eyes glittered in amusement when she saw Italian cuisine being served to them. Not just a simple Italian cuisine, but a high class one. Starting from the wine, the **Chateaux Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1986****, Lissa would feel the luckiest doctor on Earth once she'd get a sip of that finest red wine. ****Lasagne Alla Bolognese ****and ****Spaghetti Bolognese ****were also served to them. Oh, this was heaven. The waiter began pouring the wine first in Xanxus' glass, next was Lissa's glass, and lastly, Squalo's glass.**

Despite the presence of the classical music at the background, this was the very first time Lissa didn't feel sleepy upon hearing it. Well, she doesn't hear anything at all due to the finest red wine possessing her full attention. She couldn't help it. She was finally at the verge of having her first wine… and on top of all, it would be the **Chateaux Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1986. **

Xanxus and Squalo were already giving it a shot. It was Lissa's turn.

When the doctor was about to reach for her glass of wine on the table, in one blink of an eye, all those heavenly foods were thrown out of her sight. Even the table was turned upside-down.

Before Lissa could comprehend what happened all of a sudden, she heard the man beside her growl.

"Get fucking out of my sight. What the heck are these foods?"

Yes. This was what she was afraid of. It was good that people here were scared of Xanxus, a high possibility that there won't be any trouble. But… Xanxus starting the trouble was a different issue.

And thinking of her first experience with Squalo, she couldn't help but quiver in fear when those two join forces.

Now, she had no idea of what to do to stop and get out of this mess. She just hoped that the classical music would knock her out soon.

TO BE CONTINUED.

* * *

**a/n:**

I missed writing this story. XD thank you for the reviews~! Review again, please!

**VOCABULARY**

**Benevuto- welcome**


End file.
